


Wilting Faith, Unbound Courage

by PsychicBeagle



Series: Unraveling Threads [6]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Cute Little Girl, Death, Forgone Conclusion, Less than Legally Obtained Goods, Much of the Sadness, Skateboarding, Street Rats, Strong but Dumb Pal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:50:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8256623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychicBeagle/pseuds/PsychicBeagle
Summary: Another vision, another pair of Souls. For their sakes, one must face their final days. A girl succumbing to the cold, a boy with too much fire. This is a story of faith and courage.Of Patience and Bravery.Of Light Blue and Orange.Side story to Spirits Bound, sequel to Fallen Grace, Unwavering Will. Don't have to read the first, recommend reading the second for framing.





	1. On the Edge

A steady breeze blew through the streets. I had my back to it, letting it do some of the push work. People who went around light could use a good wind to pick up the pace a little. Bigger things, like grown ups or cars, not so much, and that’s what I was counting on.

 

The little plastic bag I had on me, held real tight in my left, rustled in the wind. Every now and then, I pushed at the ground, putting some more juice into my board’s speed. Best way to get around, and it made the backwind even better. Which was good for me, since the alarms didn’t take long to bring out the…

 

Right on time, a siren boomed somewhere behind me. There was a high and low to it you couldn’t not know, and if you were that thick, the red and blue lights would’ve set you straight. I guessed it was only a matter of time before they pulled out the speakers.

 

“Pull over, hands behind your head! Set that bag down slowly!” Yep, called it.

 

“Work with us, Bill, there’s enough on your track record as is. Do you really want to go to get locked up?”

 

“Hell no.” There was a small alley coming up on my right. I grinned, poking an eye at them as I made a hard turn. “So I better not get caught!” I sped down my shortcut, knowing their squad cars were too big to fit, and that they were too slow on foot to nab me. The megaphone blurred into the city noise, one of the hundreds of other sounds I grew up with. Living on these streets was never quiet, even in the dead of night.

 

I took the next left, putting me back in the right direction. It might’ve been quicker using the main road, but these back alleys were pretty sheltered from the fuzz. They never saw my get out coming. This side road always worked, taking me straight to the edge of town. The gap at the end led out into the woods, where I could disappear with the wind. I liked a bit of heart pumping as much as the next dude, but I had places to be.

 

There, the end was in sight, but something was wrong. Part of the woods were blocked off. I couldn’t tell exactly what was clogging up my way out, too dark to make out the shape, only picking up that it was black and white…

 

“Aw crap!” I pieced it together when the lights went off, a police siren bouncing through my skull. The door on my side opened, letting out an officer in full uniform. He was carrying something, kind of like a gun, but I knew better. They never used real guns against minors, especially not just thieves, only stunners. And this one was pointing straight at me.

 

“Get on the ground, there’s no way out!” Glancing left and right, I saw he wasn’t fooling, a squad car plugging up every other alley out, lights and alarms going at full power. My heart was going a hundred miles an hour, and, for a second, I felt the cold cuffs slipping around me already, saw the bars slam shut, leaving me in some hole to rot all alone…

 

_‘Screw that!’_ My fear threw itself away, my instinct to survive coming out full force. They hadn’t locked me up yet, even after taking how much food over the last few years, and now, the stakes were higher. My hold on the bag got stronger, and my teeth grit. I had my leg going non stop, dumping everything I could into one more charge. I just needed a good straight line.

 

“Move it or lose it, yo!” When I was right in the officer’s face, a few feet from ramming into his car as he stepped out of the way, I clipped the edge of my board with the arc of my shoe. I jumped, carrying it up with me. Wheels skid on the top of their cruiser, and I felt a sharp sting on my back left shoulder. It vibrated a bit, and my insides got all tingly, but that cut out after a real hard tug.

 

I went flying off the roof, hitting the ground just in time to pop an ollie over one last sidewalk. It wasn’t a wide one, giving way to grass quick. My straight line wouldn’t work much longer, a thick of trees coming up around me, but speed got a lot less important. I made my jump, and now I could take it easy. They wouldn’t risk taking a car or bike through these thick woods, and no one knew where I was heading exactly.

 

“Better luck next time, NOT!” The grass behind me rustled, a few of them following the old fashioned way, but my lead was getting bigger by the second. I was home free, and with the package to boot. I brought it up for a better look, already seeing how happy she’d be I got it for her.

 

-

 

The big city and all the noise that came with it was far behind me, leaving only the great outdoors. There were trees everywhere, plenty of bushes, chirping bugs, even a river out in the distance. Sitting above it all was Mount Ebott, my other line of defense.

 

I didn’t know what it was about the mountain, but lots of grown ups steered clear if they could. Thing is, if you asked, no one could tell you why, just some random junk about it being bad news passed down from folks to their kids for generations.

 

Me though, I didn’t buy lame legends or any crap like that. Leave fairy tales for the little kids out there, I had bigger fish to fry. Besides, I liked the place. It was weirdly calm, a lot easier to think near than back in town. And, on top of keeping random hikers off my trail, the greenery and nature made her feel more comfortable, and I only got her the best.

 

The woods thinned out a little, giving way to a clearing. It was on the small side, but it was big enough for me to set up some shelter in. It wasn’t much, a little hut in the middle of nowhere, built with whatever scrap wood I could jam into the shape of walls and a ceiling, but it was better than a cave somewhere. It kept the rain and wind out, and that’s all that really mattered.

 

I kicked the skateboard up, grabbing it midair under my right arm, and landed in a slow jog. Keeping her waiting was a no go, but I didn’t want to crash and burn when I got there. Not that I was tired, but you feel yourself drop a long time before you feel your strength run out. At least, that’s what she said, and she was usually right. Hell, she’s the one who clued me in to that wind thing. Bigger brain on her than me, that’s for sure.

 

I slowed down just outside the shack, stepping as soft as I could. It was still early, sky just starting to lighten up, and I didn’t want to be that jerk who went around waking people up. Good thing the door was light, just a thin piece of ply wood, so shutting it hard wouldn’t make too much sound. The hinges were rusty and squeaky, but it was low enough to blend in to the normal night sounds around there. She shouldn’t’ve woken up because of…

 

“Billy, is that you?” I jumped, not expecting someone to be talking at me yet. My skin crawled a little at the name, but it was low on the list of concerns.

 

“What’chu doin’ awake? You know you need the sleep.” My eyes were good with the dark in there, already used to the pitch black of midnight, so it was easy for me to spot her. Well, what there was of her to spot. She was mostly covered up in whatever blankets I could get my hands on, a little lump on the floor mat. I wished I could’ve gotten her a real bed, but that’s not the type of thing you can run off with. Her big, blue eyes were soft, looking up at me.

 

“I… I had a nightmare, and when I jumped awake…” Oh yeah, that’d do it. Any sudden movements didn’t end well for her. I fished around in the bag, pulling out my newest haul, a small, white bottle that rattled when it moved.

 

“Here Share, I got just the thing.” She brightened up at the sight, her pained frown turning into a soft smile. There was a metal cup on the ground next to a bucket, the latter filled about half way with clean water. I scooped some out, rolling it around to make sure there wasn’t any gunk in there. The bottle popped open easy enough, letting me nab a couple of pills. “Open up, these’ll take the sting out.”

 

She closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out. We’d been through this enough to know how to go about it. I set her meds on there, bringing the cup up for her when they were in. She drank nearly the whole cup, washing down her pills.

 

“Alright, just kick back a while. You should be good to get back to sleep soon enough.” I slipped my gloves off, black leather ones without fingers, so I could run a hand through her hair without it getting caught up. Having someone she trusted messing with her blonde hair, reaching down to her neck, helped calm her down. I just had to be careful about the ribbon tied in up top, a faded red thing, about as long as my forearm when stretched out.

 

“Mm, thanks, Billy, you always know just what to do.” I let the name thing slip by again, mostly because I couldn’t get mad at her squeaky little voice. She was so small, so fragile, it just kinda made me want to look out for her, you know?

 

“Nah, I wouldn’t know your aspirin from a cough drop if you didn’t point it out ‘fore.” Come to think of it, a lot of what I knew came from her. Who do you think knew how boiling water made it cleaner to drink? Not me, that’s for sure. Not the best for thinking, I just sort of… do. I felt a warm hand on my wrist.

 

“Come on, you’re smart enough. I’m sure you could’ve figured it out on your… What’s that on your shoulder?” She tried to pull me down, give her a better look, but she didn’t have the strength. I made it easy on her by leaning over further. My arm twitched, a sharp sting going out over it, then nothing. Her hand came back with a tiny needle, hooked up to a torn piece of wire.

 

“Hold up, ain’t that the tip of a stunner?” So that’s what the stinging was. “Huh, didn’t think I had it in me, taking a hit like that and still going…”

 

“You shouldn’t have.” Her eyes narrowed, focused on the needle. “A stun gun puts off enough electricity to force the muscles to seize. Even half a charge would make escape much harder, but you didn’t even register that you were hit from the sound of it. If I had to guess, I would say the one you were hit with was almost out of power, cutting off its effects.”

 

“Uh…” My brain was spinning, most of her explanation going right over my head. The only parts I caught were ‘I should have dropped’ and ‘it was out of juice.’ “Well, guess I got lucky then.”

 

“Guess nothing!” She sprung up from under the covers, wrapping both arms around me. She couldn’t even get them to reach each other around me. I hugged her back, trying to support her frame so she didn’t pull something again. “If it had been another officer, any other officer, you would be… Then I’d…”

 

I pulled her closer when her voice started to shake. I didn’t know jack about science or tech or any of that book stuff, but emotion was easy as pie.

 

“Come on, I’ve gotten out of worse jams, you know it. Here, look at me.” She pulled back, something deep in my aching when I saw the tears dripping down her cheeks. I put a hand on each shoulder, holding her in place. “I promised I’d look out for ya, didn’t I?”

 

“Yeah… And I’m grateful, but you put yourself in danger doing it. I mean, how many thefts are there on your record by now?” I almost made the mistake of trying to think of the number, but between all the pharmacies, grocery stores, hardware shops, and whatever else I’d hit over the years, I kinda lost track.

 

“Share, there’re guys who build empires around taking stuff behind the cops’ backs. They got bigger worries than me to throw troops at.”

 

“But, what if one day, they did catch you? You’re strong, but prison? You couldn’t get out. And then you would have to tell them about me, and they’d take me away. Bill, you’re the only friend I have, the only one who really cares. If I lost you, I would… I…” I don’t know how she was gonna finish, but I knew no one wanted to hear it. I pulled her back in.

 

“I said it before, and I’ll say it now. I promise I’ll look after you. I don’t care what comes at us, you’re stuck with me till the end, got it?” Finally, I heard her laugh. It was sweet, like ear sugar.

 

“Till the end… That’s so corny!” She had a point there. Coming from her, I couldn’t help but laugh, too. “Thanks, Billy, I needed that.” We sat there for a while, me slowly rubbing her muscles, helping get some of that funk out of her system.

 

“So, think you can get some shut eye now?”

 

“Actually, I’m wide awake now. Um, sorry if you needed to sleep, I can keep myself occupied for a few…”

 

“Nah, I’m good.” I pounded my chest, showing off how sturdy I was. “So what if I don’t get sleep? I’ve got plenty left in the tank!” I got to my feet, offering her a hand up. “How about we take a little walk? Gotta keep your legs nice and stretched, or it’ll just get worse.” She smiled, taking my hand. She was light enough, a tug enough to get her up. She wobbled a bit, but I was there to help.

 

“Yeah, that sounds…” The words stopped flowing, her ears perking up.

 

“Share, what’s…?” Then I heard it. Out in the distance, maybe half a mile off. Piercing, loud, a definite high and low. I pulled one of the boards in the wall off to the side, and, through the trees, I saw flashing red and blue.

 

“Oh crap…”

 

“Bill, come out with your hands up! We can help you get out of this easier, but only if you cooperate.” They weren’t in cruisers, changing out for police outfitted cycles. They were still a ways off, but that wouldn’t last long. They’d be in the hut as soon as they found it.

 

“Billy, what do we…?” I got down to one knee, stretching my head up to make the space on my shoulders bigger.

 

“I think I can get us out, but you have to hold on real tight. Think you can do that?” I looked back, her scared expression sparking something angry in me. If it was just me on the line, I would’ve gone out there and raised some Hell, but I was looking out for two. She pulled herself up on me, wrapping her arms soft around my throat. Her legs gripped my gut just the same.

 

I plucked my gloves off the floor as I rose, slipping them back on. If it did get down to a fight, nothing hurt like hard leather across the face. Her pills were down there, too, so I hurriedly slapped the cap back on and pocketed them. I started with a slow jog, hoping she got used to the ride before long. I crashed through the door, knocking it off its top hinge, leaving it dangling weirdly from the bottom. My board slid under foot, my speed carrying it along for a long while before I had to start pumping.

 

“Whatever you do, don’t let go!” I turned tail and thrust, back to the sound of their bike working through the woods. If we were lucky, they would stop to check our hut, giving us more time to book it. I took a good look at the mountain, getting an idea.

 

“Those things can’t do steep climbs, can they?”

 

“Uh, no, but neither can humans on feet!” It didn’t take long, the rocky wall coming up in front. I kicked the board up, grabbing it under arm again, and latched to the cliff. There were holds the whole way up, and I had enough muscle to take advantage, scurrying up like some sort of lizard.

 

“Let’s see them follow us now!” I felt good. No, better than good, freaking amazing! My body was like a machine, hurling me up that wall like it was nothing. I could’ve kept going that way all the way to the top…

 

“Bill, I’m slipping!” Her voice was strangled, weak, and now that I thought about it, her grip wasn’t as tight as before. She just couldn’t hold the juice for any more. I took my chance with one more bound, up to the top of the chunk we were on. It wasn’t the mountain top, but it would have to do. One hand jammed its way into the rock, almost poking holes through it, while the other held Share’s hands in place.

 

It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to get the two of us pulled up on flat ground. I hunched over forward, giving her more of a place to lay. Looking to the sides, I realized we were on some sort of path. On the right, there was a cave mouth. I thought about hiding there, but chose not to. It was lower down the mountain, and there was no way I’d give up the advantage I just dragged our asses up there for.

 

The left looked way better to me, further up. If we could get up to the top, there was a chance they’d go right by us. Share’s heavy breathing driving me on, I hopped back on board, swerving out of the way of the bigger rocks to keep things as smooth as possible. One more jolt could’ve set her off, and no one wanted that.

 

Eventually, the road started to get more thin. We were almost out of space when we ran into something I wasn’t expecting. Right near the top of the mountain, there was another cave. It couldn’t’ve been that big, but it was perfect. Out of the way, blocked off whoever was looking up, and the path to get there was even worse for bikes, thin and rough. I was having it tough trying to skate there, so I didn’t see any way a bike could make it. I made my sharp right, sending us in without a second wasted.

 

“Look out!” That was my first sign, but I was too slow and thick to get it in time. My second was the board flinging forward, flipping in the air beside me as its front end rammed straight into a thick vine. Where there should have been a floor, somewhere to land on and lick the wounds, there was nothing. As my motion wore out, it felt like the Earth opened up just to take a bite of me. Down there, I could only see dark. “Billy!”

 

A fire lit in my ribs. I lashed out, jamming a hand into the nearest wall. The rock split, giving me a hold. My other hand rubbed along, trying to find another. The pressure around my neck loosened, making it easier to breath.

 

“I’m slipping!” My eyes shot open, and my free hand shot back, barely catching Share by the wrist. I tried pulling her back up, but that arm didn’t have the strength. The long night was catching up. My hold on the wall strained me more than anything, but still I held. I didn’t have a choice.

 

“Share, you’re gonna have to climb up me! You can reach the top from my shoulders.”

 

“I can’t leave you behind!”

 

“And I won’t watch you die because of me being a dumbass!” Her breath caught. I could hear the sniffles starting up. “I’ll hold on as long as I can. Just get up there and get the cops, tell them I’m stuck here. They’ve gotta have a rope or something.”

 

She didn’t say anything else. Her weight shifted, a hand wrapping further up on my arm. She pulled with everything she had, but it wasn’t much. I heard her pained grunts, soft frame barely holding together. I hauled that half of me up, doing everything I could to make her climb easier. She was almost there, just a few inches from being able to get on top…

 

A crack. The stone I clung to crumbled, and my body started to drop. I tried forcing my hand into another hold, but the wall was too hard.

 

A scream in my ear. I flipped around, back to the ground, and wrapped myself around her. It was all I could do. I’d probably die from a drop this tall, but if I could soften it up just enough for her, I’d be fine with it. I closed my eyes, tensing up the muscles all across my body, hoping that, if this world was gonna try to eat me, I’d be one Hell of a blockage.


	2. Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you have survived the worst of the light, perhaps darkness offers the respite you desire. But beware, even the smallest sound can become deafening, in time...

            My brain was working slow, even worse than usual. I thought I was awake, but my body felt distant. I couldn’t move, a dull pain washing over me. I didn’t know what was going on, only that I felt so tired…

            Suddenly, light. My eyes must’ve drifted open on their own. Everything was blurry, just a real vague white. I couldn’t even tell which way I was facing.

            I think I blinked, or maybe I passed back out. All I could tell was that, in a flash of darkness, something new showed up. Wasn’t real big, maybe tall as my shoulders, if that. I could tell it was there, but nothing else was clear, sort of a black blob in a kind of human shape. I found myself drawn to its eyes though, glowing a weird red. Looking at each other, I thought I felt something digging through my brains. It sent shivers up my back.

            It leaned in closer, arms raising. One set down on my chest, though I could swear I felt it going in deeper, straight down to my heart. The other wrapped around my ear. Its face got even closer still, right up to its cupped hand. I heard the air move a little, like a soft breathing.

            My ears started to burn. I could tell it was saying something, but whatever it was left my insides squirming in place. The heat left my head, but it just popped up lower down. My lungs took in air, almost against my will. The breath held there for a while, a hot ache sinking in. Only, it wasn’t like I was holding my breath, more like someone lit a fire inside me.

            It slithered through me, leaving a trail as my insides opened up. The burning air pushed its way through the tubes, my heart feeling like it was trying to tear itself away from the mass. Before I knew it, the thing was in my neck, a bulge at the base of my throat. My lips opened up, followed by the teeth, no matter how hard they tried to clench shut.

            _“Chara…”_ My own voice sounded off, whispery, kind of scratchy. A weight settled in at the back of my head.

            A surge of energy ran through me, and I jolted up. My heart rocketed off at what felt like a million beats a second, and I found myself looking around wildly. Outside of this little ring of light, it was too dark to see much. Strangely, I couldn’t seem to find that weird shadow dude, not even a hint of red anywhere in sight, just plain old darkness.

            I heard a groan, and felt a weight in my lap shift around. My brain caught up with the rest of me, and I remembered what had happened. My dumb ass just went and bolted off a cliff, and I wasn’t alone.

            Share was out, but her sleep was anything but peaceful. I could see the way her face scrunched up, how her body twitched and recoiled. I didn’t feel all that bad, no worse than waking up on the wrong side of the bed, but her wrong side came with a laundry list of aches. She needed her pain killers, and she needed them now.

            I fumbled for the bottle in my pocket. My hand grabbed around its top, but I knew right off the bat something was wrong. Where there should have been a lid, there was only an opening. I yanked it up in front of me and, sure enough, the cap was gone, and the bottle itself was empty.

            In a panic, I almost jumped to my feet too soon. Some little part of me reminded the rest to set Share down real soft first, then I got up. Looking around, I saw that we landed back first in a patch of yellow flowers. What I didn’t see was pills.

            “C’mon, man, where the Hell’d they go!?”

            _‘Under the flowers…’_ I span around, ready to knock off whoever went and whispered right in my ear, but, to my surprise, there wasn’t anyone there.

            “Who the Hell’s there?”

            _‘In your head…’_ Wait, what? In my head? What’d that…

            Never mind, it wasn’t important.

            “Alright, creepy ass voice, in the flowers?” I got down to one knee, nudging a few of them apart. Down on the ground under them, little, white pellets were sprinkled around. “Jackpot!”

            Even better, it didn’t look like any of them got too dirty. I mean, they felt like they had a bit of oil on them from the flowers, but it should’ve been fine. You can eat a lot of flowers just fine, right? The oil couldn’t’ve been too bad, as long as the medicine was intact. Now we just needed water. We were a long way from our boiled up bucket, and I didn’t see any rivers or nothin’ nearby. All I could find was a door leading deeper into the dark, lined by purple pillars.

            My brow dipped down. We needed to get the pills in her, otherwise the pain’d get to her. I knew exactly how that was, so letting it go on too long wasn’t something I could do. Carefully, I slid my arms under her, still fast asleep, and lifted her up. Had to be slow about it, couldn’t let her move too much. There was only one way we could go, and it was forward.

            I marched on, ready for the long haul. I was so ready to roll, I was almost too distracted to catch the footsteps getting closer. Before I could stop and listen, the guy behind it found their way to the same door I was leaving through.

            I mean, I thought it was a person. They were way taller than most, covered up from the neck down by a purple robe. The only thing I could see on ‘em was their hands and head, but something was weird. Their ears reached down under their head, there were horns up top, and they were covered in white fur, kinda like they were wearing snow. They stepped back, eyes real big, like they were shocked to see us here.

            “Humans?” That voice was soft, calming. It almost reminded me of Mom. So, a chick then?

            Oh well, point was, she could talk. Maybe that meant she could help.

            “Uh, yeah, hey, is there, like, a river ‘round here or something? I need something to get Share her medicine, ASAP!” She let her stance straighten up, but her eyes scanned us constantly. It was kind of unsettling.

            “Yes, but it might not be clean enough to drink.” She jolted again when my arms clenched up in anger, like she was about to throw her hands out to the sides, but she just went back to straight. “But I have a purified tap at my home, if you do not mind following me there.”

            “Oh Hell yeah!” I slid an arm out, taking her hand in the best hand shake I could give without shaking up Share. “I owe you one, lady! Which way?” She looked real hard at us again, eyes crossed like she wasn’t sure if she could trust us. Yeah, I got that sort of look a lot, I could pick it up anywhere. That feeling lightened up quick enough, though.

            “It is at the far end of the Ruins, a thirty minute walk, give or take.” She glanced behind me, pointing back there. “Is that… plank of wood yours?”

            No way, did it really land down here with us? I turned and checked. Yeah, that was my board alright, and it looked like it was in one piece to boot! You know, it started by falling down a pit, but it looked like my lucky day.

            “Sweet, even better!” I ran after it, flipping it wheel side down with my feet. If I could manage it right, it’d give me the smoothest ride there. I was on, and ready to go, pumping my way back to the doorway. “All set, lady!”

            I don’t know why, but she gave me this real weird smile. Okay, weird wasn’t the right word. I couldn’t actually find a word for it, but it was the same sort of smile Share gave me after coming home with a good snack. I took it as a good thing.

            “Of course, this way. Do not mind the Froggits, they will not bother us so long as we do not bother them.”

 

-

 

            Wow, there were a lot of things living down here. Frogs, big flying… things, some sort of beetle pig that danced, the works. There was even this little thing that looked like jello and wiggled at me when we went by. Kind of cool, you know?

            Too bad I couldn’t focus on them more. Cool as they were, I was on a timer. Had to get Share’s medicine in her before she woke up. I refused to let her hurt more than she had to. Especially when it was all my fault.

            The lady stopped us every few rooms, warning me about puzzles. I didn’t get why she’d be worried about puzzles of all things, but these were her streets, not mine. Well, tunnels, but the idea’s the same. She knew how things worked, and I wouldn’t think I knew better. Hell, she knew how to get past this floor of spikes that looked like they’d skewer my ass in a second flat. Whoever she was, she was fine by me.

            “Here we are.” Her house wasn’t much on the outside. It was just purple bricks and pillars, like everything else around there. The red leafed tree was cool, like the tip of a match, but everything else was about the same. Wasn’t even a door out front, a big mistake up top. Guy could just walk in and out with whatever he wanted.

            And there was a lot inside to want. One step in, I found myself looking at some real fancy, wooden shelves. Stuff like that went for big bucks in back alley shops, and those potted flowers might’ve jacked it up higher if you could manage them, too. Not that I’d do that to her. You don’t spit on a good turn, ever.

            “There is a spare bedroom in the right hall, first door on the left. Feel free to use either of the beds. I will be in shortly with a glass of water.” I hurried off, not even thinking about getting off the board inside. I didn’t get so close to the goal just to slow down.

            The door opened, showing me two places where I could set her down to rest. Finally! The one on the right was closer, so I went with that one. It was a bit of a struggle getting the covers to slip around her, but I got it. She seemed to relax a little, body picking up it was somewhere much more cozy than my grubby mitts.

            I set a hand on her forehead, but it was more force of habit than anything. She always told me her condition didn’t stir up fevers, but it was all I really knew on my own. The forehead thing is what they always did on TV, and I knew TV more than I knew actual doctor stuff.

            The door creaked open slowly, letting the lady in. Like she promised, there was a glass of water all ready. It was a nice glass, too, actually made of glass instead of old scrap metal. Probably handy, not having to feed yourself with stuff that rusted.

            “Thanks, lady, I can handle it from here.” I took the drink, a little more rough than I planned, but I was in a hurry. I gently propped Share’s top half up. “Hey, it’s me, Billy. I need you to open your mouth for me. You don’t gotta wake up, but I need you to take some medicine, okay?” A soft whine slipped out, but she listened, loosening her shut jaw.

            I fished out a couple of pills, still slick with plant oils. If anything, I was thankful for it, hopefully making them a little easier to swallow. I slid two of them in, and brought the edge of the glass up. She unconsciously started to drink, washing the pills down with most of the water. When she didn’t start choking on anything, I took it as a well done, lowering her back down.

            “If you do not mind my asking, what, precisely, is wrong?” I could feel her looking down at me, pitying me. Normally, I wasn’t the kind of guy to take that crap, but she did help save Share’s skin. I owed her a little explanation.

            “Her body isn’t built right. Can’t remember what she called it, but the long and short is that she’s a lot more fragile than most. Her bones bend under her own weight, and she’s a lot more open to getting sick from all the stress. If she don’t get strong pain meds, things get real bad, real quick.”

            I let my eyes slip over the bottle in my hand. I’d recognize its print anywhere. Couldn’t even start trying to say the name, one of those big words that looked like someone shook up a can of alphabet soup, but the design was lodged. Plain white bottle, two part label, top half blue, bottom red, meeting up at a curved border. The day she pointed it out, I set it hard in my head. I wasn’t gonna let a little forgetfulness leave her without the stuff she needed. My gut turned at the thought, but I forgot about it when a warm hand wrapped around my shoulder. Probably the fur, right?

            “Yours is a kind Soul, taking care of someone so small.” Me, kind?

            “Don’t think you’ve got the right word. I just don’t have the heart to see what’d happen to her if she was left alone, y’know?” It was getting hard to see anything, now that I thought about it. I rubbed my face, the lack of real good sleep in the last day getting to me.

            “I understand perfectly, which is why I think you should rest.” I turned to look at her, confused. I just said I wouldn’t leave her alone, didn’t I? “You might take care of her, but that does not mean you do not need help yourself. Allow me to keep an eye on her as you rest. I can tell you need it, and I would be a rude host if I denied you such a necessity.”

            Usually, when adults started talking about taking care of me in those big, fancy words I didn’t get, it hit me like an insult. Like they were mocking me for being some stupid kid. But the way she said it was just so… warm. Like she actually cared about me, as a person, and not just as some kid to sweep off the streets. There was a weird comfort in my heart I hadn’t felt in years, and the back of my head pulsed soothingly. I couldn’t put a word to it though. Told myself I’d ask Share later, like always.

            “Well, it’s nice of you to offer and all, but I’m not really that…” My jaw locked itself open, a heavy yawn pushing its way through. I caught her trying to hide her smile the whole time. “Okay, so maybe I am, but I can’t just up and leave her. Don’t know how things work around here, but up top, you don’t break a promise.”

            “I suppose we are fortunate there happens to be another bed just across the room then, correct?” I glanced over my shoulder, completely forgetting there was a matching mattress right there. “You will still be near, and you can get some much needed rest as well. I believe you young people would call that a win-win, yes?”

            “Uh, yeah…” It was getting harder and harder to argue. For one, she was a lot more brainy than me, knew how to make some good points. Two, outrunning the cops through the city, outrunning them up a mountain, falling down the mountain, then walking under that mountain to a goat lady’s house aren’t exactly easy things to do. I’ll admit it, I was wiped. “Alright, but you’d better wake me up if something goes wrong!” She nodded, waving a little at the other bed.

            I caved, hauling myself up and trudging over to the left side of the room. My feet were weirdly heavy, like some part of me was trying to hold them down. I didn’t care enough to even think about it, slipping my board under the frame while I pulled up the sheets.

            _‘Isn’t this… someone else’s?’_ I stopped, thrown off by the whispery voice. Looking around, this was some kids’ room, toys and art stacked up here and there. This was one of their beds I was getting in, and I knew I’d be upset if I got back to the shack to find some random weirdo making himself cozy in my corner.

            Then again, I hadn’t seen anyone but the lady, not a kid anywhere. Besides, it was her house. She said it was safe to sleep in, I’d trust her to mean it.

            _‘…Take the shoes off?’_ Eyes roaming down, I saw just how dirty they were, blades of grass, purple dirt, and a whole lot of random tunnel gunk all over the bottoms. Okay, the voice had a point there. I peeled my black and white sneakers off, leaving behind old, hole filled socks. My shoes hit the floor, and I hit the bed, dragging the blankets up over my shoulders.

            I curled up, almost surprised when it actually sank under me a little. It’d been a long time since I’d been in a bed. I remembered them being better than the cold ground, but this was something else. My eyes closed, and I felt myself slipping away easier than ever. For once, I thought I was… safe. Just before I blacked out, I heard the lady saying something else.

            “Sweet dreams, child.” I don’t know why, but my smile got pretty wide, and my cheeks warmed up a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's part two, a lovely piece that's certain not to lead anywhere too depress...
> 
> ...What? Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, the format change! Well, I've found a new way to transfer work from my laptop to my main computer, which I post from, which makes posting these so much easier. No joke, the last chapter needed an hour of editing to make it fit in a pleasing way. This one took maybe three minutes, five more or so to add these blurbs. So much easier, leaves me time to burn on the new Monster Hunt...
> 
> Actually, no, I'll save that for Game On. Sweet dreams!
> 
> (By the by, am I the only one noticing I put the most disturbing stuff in these side stories? The main line isn't exactly peaches and cream, but these? Break out the skull chandeliers!)


	3. Twilit Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like many things, the word 'family' has many forms. By blood? By happenstance? Why should it matter? Why question good fortune in either case? But beware, the dice can only roll in your favor for so long.

_My head spun, golden light filling my senses. The first part of a sunset, it had been so long. I sniffed the air, a floral scent flooding my nose. I could smell more clearly than ever, making it all too easy to find what I was looking for._

_White, wood buildings lined the streets beside me. They seemed pretty normal, if flimsy by my family’s standards. One little tremor would bring them all down like a stack of cards. What they lacked in stability, they made up for in appearance, flowers running up and down the blocks. At the center of it all, in the town square, a huge field of golden petals beckoned._

_I looked down at my arms, the weight there only now starting to cool. The body was so small, so frail. It sickened me, and yet, I couldn’t hate it. At the center of town, right in the middle of the flowers, I set it down, its green and yellow attire matching perfectly with the garden. I wiped the long, brown hair from its face, revealing two cheeks, the color long drained from them, and a pair of closed eyes. They wouldn’t be opening again. Well, this was as good a start as any. My ears perked, the loud smack of doors flying open ringing all around me._

_I blinked, but I could barely tell the difference. It was so dark, so cold. Even if there was still any sun poking up over the horizon, I wouldn’t know, towering pillars of stone and glass rising in every direction. So few knew what happened in the middle of it all, and so few cared._

_The body in my arms felt light, too light. Rags of clothes dangled from it, as if draped over a wire frame, and the skin seemed loose, but sucked in. Its arms twitched, but even that seemed to burn more energy than it could spare, the light in its eyes fading fast._

_“Please, someone, so hungry…” Its words came out cracked, dry, gasping for help as hungrily as it gasped for air. It tried to reach up for me, but it didn’t have the strength._

_“Come on, stick with me, I can help! I… I gotta…” In one moment, its eyes opened as far as they could, one last spark flaring in those orbs. Then, nothing. The little tenseness in its muscles faded, arms dropping, dangling over its sides, before all motion stopped. It couldn’t even close its lids, two empty balls that should have been full of life staring up at me. The tears on my face were hot, burned my skin._

_“Well, would you look at that, another one falls.” I didn’t bother looking up. That voice came from all around. There was no point in tracking it down, coming from too many mouths to hunt them all._

_“Serves them right. Our streets have no space for urchins like them.”_

_“Yes, yes! We should be thankful, the natural order keeping things in line for us.”_

_“Shut up…” I tried to block them out, but it was too much. So many eyes looking down at us, nowhere near enough actually looking at us. The heat of my tears stretched further, weaving its way down through me._

_My eyes settled on the one thing left with any spark of humanity. Atop the body’s head was a thin bit of fabric, cotton I think. It was a pure black, and the top still held a little touch of the person who left it. There was a rough sketch of muscles, abs, in white, smack in the middle. It was like it was writing down how it wanted to be tough, even though I doubted it could write._

_I couldn’t do anything to help while it was alive, but I refused to let those last embers die out. Softly, I slid the bandanna from it, short, greasy hair seeing open air for the first time in months. I flipped the cloth inside out, knowing no one else would appreciate the message. I would keep it to myself, the one person who could understand this one’s wishes. The bandanna fit perfect on me, a dome over top of my hair, even shading out my eyes a little, sealing the memory in my brain. I wouldn’t forget this, I refused._

_“There, do you see it?”_

_“My, another urchin! How crude, loitering about our shops like that.”_

_“Yes yes, sweep it up now! We needn’t see such a horrid thing.”_

_I spun around on my heels, gaze lined straight down a hole between buildings. There was a group of people, taller ones, adults, all crowding around in front of a shop, a drug store if I remembered. They were hoarding around something, someone. There was a pale skinned little girl, backing away from the adults, as they closed in around her._

‘…no…’ _The tracks of heat inside me picked up the pace, the burning tendrils reaching further and further in._

_“Unsightly child.”_

‘No…’ _It felt like lava in my veins, and those trails led back to my heart._

_“Stain on our city.”_

_“Worthless.”_

_“Get it out of our sight.”_

_“NO!” That burning feeling had sunk deeper than ever, reaching places I didn’t know I had, the core of my being. It was a rage like I had never known, and my soul was on fire._

_My legs started running, almost on their own. Instinct overrode thought, my body barreling into action. I was blinded by fury, but, for the first time in my whole life, I felt wide awake. I could’ve sworn the concrete cracked with each step. Good, all the better to bring those ivory towers crashing down._

_“Get the Hell AWAY!” My fist met the side of one of their heads. The little girl looked at me in surprise. Somewhere, deep down in those eyes, I saw something else. Something new. Gratitude. The adult’s jaw snapped loud, and the cracking filled my ears. With each swing, the ground under me felt more and more shaken. When the last one dropped, the floor went with ‘em, and darkness blotted out my world._

-

 

            My eyes shot open, and I cringed. My whole body felt sore, and it stung, like someone was stabbing me over and over. When I went to cover the wounds, block blood loss, I was almost shocked to see there wasn’t a mark on me.

            _‘What the Hell was…?’_

            “Billy, are you okay!?” The feeling went away fast, my mind refocusing on the sound of that high, kind voice. On the far side of the room, Share had thrown the covers off, like she was about to run over in worry. I’d figure out what just happened later, I needed to make sure she didn’t work herself up too much first.

            “Uh, yeah, just a bit raw from yesterday’s all.”

            “Do you want some of my painkillers?”

            “No! No, I’m cool, you need those things more’n me. I can walk my funk off, trust me.” In fact, I was already feeling better. Whatever messed me up so bad was gone, my body working just like it should. I shoved the thought away for later. “Speaking of, you doing alright?”

            “She was a bit confused when she woke up, but a short conversation dealt with that.” I was so locked on Share, I didn’t even see the lady at the end of her bed, a covered plate on her lap.

            “Yeah, miss Toriel’s really nice! We’re lucky you ran into her when you did, right?” That’s when I realized my screw up. Didn’t even ask for her name before.

            “You got that right.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, hoping she didn’t remember me being… well, me. “We owe you one, Tor. We street types always pay our dues, so you need something, let me know.” She raised an eyebrow, but was still smiling, like she found something just a little funny.

            “Think nothing of it. I could not live with myself if I left anyone in need behind, especially the young and… disadvantaged.” How about that, and adult who was hands on about helping out. Maybe it was a goat creature thing. “And, if I might ask, Tor?” She was chuckling to herself.

            “Yeah, ’s quicker just to say the first part. Way I live, kind of important to work quick.” Her eyes widened in understanding.

            “Oh, I see! That is why you call Sherri Share, yes?” I nodded, glad she wasn’t gonna give me crap about the way I talked. “So that would mean you call yourself Bill, not Billy, right?” Just the mention of that last one made me nervous.

            “Well, yeah, and besides. Full thing’s kind of… kiddy, soft. I ain’t that kind of guy, see?”

            “But, you _are_ a child.” My blood was on the edge of boiling, only stopped because she looked more questioning than accusing.

            “I’m not some little brat, I’m a teen! Get it straight.” I guess she didn’t see my little burst there coming, leaning away.

            “Miss Toriel?” Share scooted up to her, pulling on her sleeve. “Don’t take that personally, he gets defensive when people call him a kid. Where we’re from, people think little kids are weak, or in the way. There’s a negative connection there for him.” Tor started drooping, like a half melted candle.

            “Oh my, I did not know…” She straightened up, looking me right in the eye, like she respected me enough to give me my due. “Bill, I must apologize. In monster society, such a connotation does not exist. While we do see children as smaller, in need or some guidance, we do not look down on them just because they are children. I meant no disrespect.” My blood cooled off, something deep down lightening up. Never thought I’d see the day, you know?

            “It’s aight, just don’t go calling me that again. Might be different for monsters, but we’re not monsters.” She nodded, letting out a breath.

            “Good, good, how about we forget that incident? I believe this should go a ways to that end.” The cover over her plate came off, letting loose a blast of something that smelled too good to be true. It was sweet, sugary, but I picked up a hint of meat to it. On her tray was a pie that looked like it could fill and elephant. It was kind of intimidating, but another thing I wasn’t was a coward.

            “You didn’t have to make anything for us, really! We owe you so much as is…” Share always had a mind for that, thinking about what we could and couldn’t afford to do.

            “No need to be so shy. Consider this a warm welcome. It sounds to me as though you will need somewhere safe to rest while you recover from your fall and get accustomed to the Underground, and I know nothing better for a first taste than home cooking. I have been working on my snail pie recipe for generations, you know.” Share kinda paled at that.

            “Um, snail?” Tor blinked, not sure how to act to her hesitation.

            “Yes, I was told it was quite the delicacy when I made them in New Home. Wait, humans are not allergic to snails, are they? The last one who fell was not…”

            “Some places treat it like fine dining, but the rest of the world… not so much.” I just shrugged.

            “I’ll try it. Must be a reason some places like it, right? What’s the worst that could happen?” The look on Share’s face was one I saw a lot, usually when she thought I wasn’t thinking things through.

            “I really wish you’d stop saying things like that.”

 

-

 

            I don’t know what Share was worried about, that pie was delicious! Sweet crust that flaked in your mouth around a meat that had enough strength to it to make biting through a piece satisfying. Not to mention it fused two of the best things out there, baked goods and meat. I put away half the pie before I was full.

            “Man, that hit the spot!” I stretched back, letting my weight sink into my seat. Her dining room was as nice as the rest of the house, clean wood furniture with nice paintings on the wall. The fireplace was lit up by the time we got there, making a comforting heat that sank into the bones. “Haven’t eaten like that in years, right?”

            “No kidding.” Share was struggling to finish one slice, which was as big as a whole normal pie. It was a lot more than I could bring back for her each night, not that I didn’t try. I refused to let her go hungry. Seeing her filled to the brim made things easier to digest.

            “I am glad you liked it.” Tor was in her rocking chair by the fire, a book in hand. I couldn’t make out the title, but there was a picture of a snail on the front. “Though I now find myself low on ingredients. Will you two be alright while I make a trip into town later?” She had my attention.

            “There’s a town down here?”

            “Yes, though it has seen better days. Many of the residents moved away long ago, but there are a few who are more than glad to do business, and plenty of abandoned buildings full of supplies should the need arise.”

            “It aight with you if I come along?” I shook the bottle in my pocket, keeping an ear on how many pills were rattling around. “I wanna know if they’ve got the medicine we need before we run out.”

            “I do not see why not. Though there is one thing you should mind. If anyone asks, do not address yourselves as humans. Trust me, it is for your own safety.” Hold on, what?

            “There a problem with humans down here?” She, after a bit of a wait, nodded slowly.

            “…Does it have something to do with why you’re down here?” I glanced across the table at Share.

            “What’d that have to with it?”

            “Well, think about it. You’d think people would talk about it more if there was a settlement full of creatures like this, so that means there must be something keeping them from noticing each other. If there’s specifically a problem with humans, something must’ve happened.” See, that’s why I listened to her, the stuff she said usually made some sense to me.

            “You are not far off.” The look on Tor’s face was sad, even regretful. “It has been so long that I have lost track of the precise number, but many years ago, countless generations, our two species were in a bitter conflict. It was no fault of our own, only the fact that they feared us. For such a minor thing, we were sealed away.”

            “That’s whack!” The chair I was in nearly toppled, me shooting up too quick for it to stay steady. “You’re better than most _humans_ I’ve met in my life, but those jokers were afraid of you? What, afraid of getting some common sense!?” I know, me and common sense were on the far sides of an iron fence, but that should just point out how bad things were more.

            “I am uncertain of the exact reasoning, but I have no doubts regarding the results, an earthy prison and a persisting disdain for humans. You are fortunate, the monsters of the Ruins do not know what humans look like. You will be safe here, but only so long as that remains a secret.” Share lit up with another realization.

            “So that means we wouldn’t be in other places?” Tor nodded.

            “In the portions beyond these Ruins, the Royal Guard patrols the trails. They are well informed, and would know your true identities from a mile away. They would not falter in bringing you down in the name of Kind Asgore.” Her expression softened, letting herself smile a little, ease up the tension in the room. “But do not fret, the entrance here is a one way door. Unless you know the precise method for opening the door, which I have altered over time, you can not enter from their side.”

            “Heh, guess that’s three we owe you.” It was like she was taking care of us before she knew she’d be taking care of us.

            “For the final time, I do not expect anything of you.” Her smile was as warm as the room, and just as inviting. “Your company is more than enough. Speaking of, how about we read something to pass the time? I have amassed a fair few tomes in my time…”

            “Actually, Miss Toriel…” Share sounded nervous, and I think I knew exactly why. “Billy and I can’t read. There isn’t that much education for people on the street.”

            “That sounds…” There was a spark of emotion deep in her red eyes, one I knew well, raw anger, but she smushed it before it got any bigger. “Well that simply will not do. Tell you what, I can teach you how if you would like.” Back at the table, Share’s eyes were sparkling like diamonds.

            “Yes, yes please!” Now, I wasn’t exactly the bookish type, but I wasn’t about to ruin her moment. I was sure I could find something useful out of learning.

            “Excellent! Now, come here, we can begin with this book. I am certain you will find it interesting.” She pulled out a pillow, making a soft spot for Share on her lap, who was more than happy to take the seat. I settled for looking over her shoulder, a front row spot to see Share grow. “Now then, where was I? Oh yes, chapter five, elements of snail digestion…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Wow, things are looking up. Place is pretty cozy, especially compared to a shack in the woods. This should last forever..."
> 
> Heh, who's the psychic here?


	4. Broken Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you've been torn down to the core, perhaps something deeper holds the cure.

            When I heard there was a city underground, I thought it was gonna be something small. You know, little coves dug into the walls for homes, maybe a little stand or two for the stores. I mean, there wouldn’t be enough room for a full blown skyscraper deal, right?

            Wrong. My jaw hit the floor when I looked out from the steps heading down, leading to the bottom of a cave room big enough to hold my home city three times. Just trying to look down from the top of the stairs made me nauseous, and looking up from the bottom was just as bad. What was the word for it?

            “Um, am I the only one getting vertigo?” That was it!

            “You’re not alone there, Share. What, did you guys just dig out the walls until they were big enough for you?” Tor was just behind us, smiling that weird way while we took in buildings twice the height of the ones back home. Did they really have enough people… I mean, monsters, to say they needed this much housing?

            “You are not far off. When we first arrived, there was much worry about how we would provide individual shelter for everyone. We began mining for materials, stone, mostly, and didn’t stop for a long time. Eventually, we realized it was more efficient to leave rock formations behind in the shape of homes than to reform them later.” Huh, smart. It’d save a lot of work, carving out bricks and hoping they stayed stuck together.

            “But why’d you make them so big? Most of them look empty anyway.” It might’ve been bright for a deep, dank cavern, but there’d usually be some lights inside the buildings, or maybe monsters running around the streets. I saw maybe a handful of those frogs hopping around, but otherwise it was a ghost town.

            “Eventually, once we realized the human armies weren’t coming for us after all, we began to populate the rest of the terrain between here and the entrance to the surface. Those few who grew to like this place remained, the distant forefathers and mothers of the Froggits and Whimsums you see here.” Wait, was I getting absorbed by a history lesson? Man, this lady should be a teacher or something.

            “Gro…” Share’s talking was slow, uneven. I had an idea what she was up to, turning around to check. Sure enough, she was putting her lessons to use, staring up at the sign over one of the doors. Tor gave us both a rundown of which letters made what sounds, and I guess Share was anxious to try and put that to practical use. Eh, why not give it a go?

            “Gro…Grokeries?”

            “Very close. Remember, a ‘C’ next to an ‘E’, ‘I’, or ‘Y’ creates a sound like the letter ’S.’ You were close for your first attempt!”

            “So that would mean… Groceries!”

            “Yes, very good, Sherri!” Share’s smile was bright enough to light up the whole cave on its own. Didn’t even mind that I missed the mark. “Conveniently enough, this is our first stop.”

            She opened up the front door, and we came in behind her. I jumped right back out after seeing something skitter across the counter. Something big, hairy, and eight legged. And it wasn’t alone. There were at least ten of the little terrors crawling around the front of the shop, and I wasn’t in a hurry to see how many were in the back.

            “Bill, where are you going? Do you not wish to meet your new neighbors?” What was she talking about? All I saw were the…

            “Miss Toriel, Billy is severely arachnophobic.”

            “Why’d you go and say that!?”

            “It’s true! Don’t you remember hitting your head on the ceiling last week when one got on your shoe?” I shuddered, completely unable to forget. Why couldn’t my brain go on the fritz with the embarrassing crap instead of the alphabet?

            “I promise you, the owners mean you no harm. They only wish to do business.” Did that mean those things ran the store? A double handful came up the other edge of the counter, carting a plastic bag bigger than my head. “Ah! Thank you very much.” She dipped a hand into her pockets, letting some change loose on the counter. Before the creepy crawlers could haul them away, I noticed how sparkly they were. Gold? I would’ve got a closer look, but they were in the claws of those creepy little…

            …I mean, wimpy little bugs. My pride was in two pieces on the ground. Good thing we were out quick enough, back on the streets with a bag of assorted cans in Tor’s hand. I avoided eye contact for a few streets.

            She was right about this place getting left behind. Every block was lucky to have one occupied building, and even then it was maybe with a handful of those jello things or a bug. Thankfully no more spiders, not that I saw, but that didn’t change how lonely it all was.

            It didn’t hit me as right. I lived my whole life in the big city, woke up in the noise and breezed through the crowds. Got out into the woods since the move, but even then there was the basic noises of nature. This place was quiet, almost dead in a way. How did they live like this?

            I wanted to get my mind off of it, so I looked around for more signs. There was another building with a big sign on top just down the road. I stared hard at it, trying to put the letters into something usable.

            “P… puharmacy.” It felt weird in my mouth. Did that mean I was off?

            “A ‘P’ followed by ‘H’ makes an ‘F’ sound.” Share had this stuff down hard. It made my learning a little smoother, that’s for sure. So, try two.

            “Pharmacy…” It took my brain a second to figure out what I was looking at. My eyes shot open when it hit me. “Pharmacy! That means medicine!” I ran off ahead, reaching for the doorknob.

            “Bill, that one is…!” Locked. Of course, the one place I needed was locked. The knob clicked firmly in my hand. “Apologies, but this place has been abandoned for some time. The original owners were among the first to leave. Perhaps we will find what you need else…”

            She went quiet when I pulled a thin screwdriver and a makeshift pick out. The second one was just a ground down kitchen knife, but it worked. They slipped right into the keyhole, which, to my surprise, was a lot like the ones up top. The model felt a little different, but the basics were along the same lines. I could work with it. The pick wormed its way into the tumblers, lifting them up, steadied with the driver. It seemed about right. I would find out as soon as I started spinning the thing.

            “Bingo!” It clicked, and the door glided open for me. “Alright, show me what’chu got.” The inside was dusty as Hell, and it was even colder in there than it was outside. Well, relative outside. The place was straight up forgotten, which meant no one else had claims on anything in there.

            I dived behind the main counter, knowing they always hid the best goodies out of the customer’s view. Or, closer to the point, from the prying eyes of a thief, but I had good eyes.

            That didn’t help when the thing I was looking for wasn’t actually there. No white pill bottles to be seen, let alone one with a blue and red label. Not even a simple aspirin, just little wooden bowls filled with green, red, and yellow powders.

            “The Hell’s this?” I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. It wasn’t what I wanted. “Aight, maybe they got it with the rest of their stock.” Yeah, Share’s stuff didn’t have too many nasty side effects if you took it right. Maybe these guys were more lax about it.

            I tore through shelf after shelf, shoving more and more wooden powder bowls out of the way. I’m pretty sure I turned each and every one on that floor inside out, but I didn’t find jack. Just more bowls and a few glass jars full of weirdly colored water.

            I gripped the nearest shelf so hard it damn near cracked. What kind of pharmacy was this!? It didn’t have anything but powder and juice!

            “Bill, are you…?” Wait, there were stairs! Duh, this place had, like, a hundred floors, just like every other building on the block. So up I went, and there were more shelves on floor two. But again, powder and juice. Floor three, powder and juice. Floor ten, still the same.

            I lost count by the time I hit the top, nothing but dust to show for it, and my heart sank when I saw it wasn’t another shop floor. It was a living space, an old couch with a few blankets and a cupboard taking up most of the space. My overstressed brain threw all its hope at that cupboard, almost hallucinating throwing those doors open to find a whole stash of her medicine. I needed it, _she_ needed it. It had to be there. I pulled it open…

            …and was met by nothing. The thing was empty, not even dust. Not even powder or juice. Just air. I started to shake, my hold on the handles getting almost painful. I barely heard the heavy footsteps on the stone floor behind me.

            “Bill, you are going to wear yourself out at this rate. You need to…”

            “GOD DAMNIT!” I threw my arms down, tearing the cupboard doors right off their hinges. They dropped to the floor, where my interest in them burned up. I slammed my fists into the bottom of the empty closet, and I’m sure I felt the boards splinter under them, spared injury only by my leather gloves. “What kind of pharmacy is this!? Where’s the medicine!? They don’t got shit here!”

            “Please, calm down!” There was a hand on my shoulder, heavy, warm, comforting, but my head was too buzzed up to care. “You have to think, the old owners put this together centuries ago, possibly millennia. I am unsure the pain killers you seek were even made at the time.”

            I screwed my eyes shut, trying to hold in the building heat, rage so thick I swore there was a red light in my eyelids. I needed an outlet. Something, anything. In one burst of raw anger, I brought a hand up and drove it straight through the back of the cupboard. The rock wall on the other side hurt like Hell, but it almost made me feel better inside. Almost.

            Why couldn’t I do something right for once? Why couldn’t there be just one stupid bottle? What did she do to deserve getting stuck with a brutish, stupid little ape like me? My thoughts fizzled away, a slow, steady dripping sound echoing in my ears.

            “Bill, I… Are those…?” It felt like the hold on me was getting a bit tighter, and that something else was coming up to wrap around me, but it froze at the sound of more footsteps. They were slow, unsteady, and broken up with soft grunts of pain.

            “Billy, Miss Toriel, are you up here? What was that crash? Is there a prob…?” Her questions stopped with another grunt, a foot hitting the very top step. The person behind me, Tor I think, backed away, going over to help Share. There I went again, leaving the sick kid at the bottom of the long sets of stairs by herself. What was I thinking, it was hard enough for her to go up a slight incline. Why did I have to be so…

            I shook the thought from my head, wiping away the moisture from my eyes with the back of my arm. She didn’t need to see that, not from me. I turned around, going to help her with a soft smile. She was wincing from the climb, but she looked like a little rest would make her all better. I put an arm around her, right over Tor’s, letting her use me for support.

            “Don’t worry, Share, just me being too rough with furniture again. This stuff’s kinda old, y’know?” I kept myself right in front of her, hoping the look I put on was convincing. Her breathing steadied out soon enough.

            “Billy, you need to stop running off like that. You know I worry about you when you have one of your episodes.”

            “Yeah, I got it, but I was hoping there’d be some more medicine up here for you. I guess we’ll just have to keep looking, right?” I was thick, but I wasn’t that thick. If this was the stuff they had when the city was dug out, it was the stuff every pharmacy would have. A ghost town can’t keep its own stores up to date. There wasn’t shit I could do, and I knew it. I just had to keep her calm and hope her current bottle held up long enough for me to figure something out.

            “You know, you can be real silly sometimes. If there were pills here, they wouldn’t be going anywhere if you took your time to…” Her thought trailed off, and her eyes drifted away from mine.

            I turned to follow her line of sight, finding that I missed something in the corner of the room. It was a little kitchen play set. It looked like painted wood, but the way light bounced off it was weird. Share pulled away from us, legs a lot more sturdy, to get a closer look.

            I followed her, picking out more details. It was a little box that almost looked like an oven, a counter on both sides, and little fake utensils lined the top. A few forks, a spoon, even a toy knife. I grabbed the knife and realized what was up. It was wood, I could tell by the lines on the handle, but it was as smooth as plastic. Was it some sort of magic treatment to make them hold together longer? Well, it worked, the set still looking and feeling brand new.

            “It’s so… pretty!” The most beautiful thing though was what it did to Share, her eyes all lit up, full of life. Now _that_ made me feel better. Maybe the climb wasn’t such a waste after all. I took her hand, gently slipping the knife into it.

            “Hey Tor, you think you can carry Share back down? Making her use the stairs again’d hurt her health.”

            “I believe so, but I had thought you would wish to do so. You seem independent that way.”

            “Yeah, usually.” My eyes went over to the couch, those thin blankets on it looking like exactly what I needed. “But I’ve got something bigger on my plate.” I yanked them off, tying them into two circles. I took a second to jam the spoons and knives into my free pocket before hefting the set itself up and into the rings. They were big enough to hold it with more than enough room to spare. It was perfect, me slipping an arm through each loop, hefting the whole pack up and onto my shoulders. “How about we find this thing a spot in our room?”

            She didn’t answer with words. She didn’t have to, all I needed to get the point given with a tight hug. She was up on her tiptoes, trying to cover me as much as possible. Well, at least I didn’t have to fake the smile anymore.

 

-

 

            The walk back home was slower than before. Not because of the kitchen set, I could haul that sucker in my sleep. No, it was Share’s child side coming out to play. It had been too long since she had a chance to act like an actual kid, but now that she could, she was going from building to building, a pocketful of gold change from Tor rattling as she looked for more stuff to add to her toy collection. She wasn’t finding much of anything, but she looked too happy for either of us to stop her. Let her have fun, she needed it.

            That left me and Tor alone in the street for long stretches of time. Whenever Share wasn’t in sight, I could feel her eyes on the back of my head. She was worried. Not that fake worry from topside, real concern. I still didn’t like it, but I could understand it better. It took her a while to actually say anything.

            “Bill, I know this may be private, but I must know. Why were you so upset back there?” That was a stupid question from where I was standing.

            “Why wouldn’t I be? Dug through that whole place just to not find a drop of medicine we could use.” Even if there was an old pain killer, whatever was there was way out of date anyway, all plant based and such. Kitchen aside, it was a waste of time.

            “Yes, I would be upset in your shoes as well, but I cannot see why you would react so violently.”

            “Don’t pretend you know me.” I could almost feel her surprise, not expecting one of those cold rebel lines out of me. “I like you Tor, you’re a good person, but you just met me yesterday. You don’t know what I’ve seen, what I’ve been through. You’ve seen some shit, I’ve seen different shit. I think different, I act different, but after everything I’ve seen, I can’t not be like this.”

            “Bill.” Her voice was still caring, but there was an edge of age, of tiredness to it. “I have seen imprisonment. I have survived war. I bore witness to countless numbers of my kin fall to dust. I have hurt inside as well, so please, do not be so distant. You say I cannot understand, so help me follow. I only wish to help, you know that.” I sighed, not wanting to bring out everything, but I didn’t have a choice.

            “Dying in battle, some people have all the luck.” There was a flash of anger from her. Fair enough, but I had the head to keep going. “Going that way, at least you have a cause. You know you fell for a reason, you can find comfort in that. Plus, it’s usually quick. One second, one hit, you’re gone. No more hurt than that.” I grabbed my gut, memories of an old pain hitting me hard. “So, what do you know about hunger?”

            “It…” Her heat spike was gone, replaced by real confusion. “It is a small ache in your stomach when you have not been supplied with enough food, though it is usually a minor inconvenience at best…” I whipped my head around, glaring at her through one eye.

            “How long’s it been since you’ve gone a day without food?” She stopped, the weight of that one sentence sinking in fast. I had to drive it deeper. “How about a week? Or a month? Let me tell you, I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone. Your gut churning, tearing at itself, begging you to fill it. But you can’t always do it, so you’re left to whither away until you get lucky enough to find a little piece of bread, maybe swipe a hot dog if you could manage the stands.”

            “I… I…” It was like I blew a lid off in her world. I wasn’t done yet, not by a long shot.

            “Have you ever seen what happens when someone goes more than a month? It’s even worse. How about a friend?” The heat in my eyes was back, but I didn’t have the fury to blur it out. I was all too aware of my mind bringing the pictures back. “They start shrinking. Their skin sucks in, ribs show up one by one. You see the outline of each and every bone in their body as whatever they have is burned to try to keep alive. They start looking like a science model instead of a person, but they’re alive. Barely.”

            “You go much longer than that…” My breath caught, my body fighting against me trying to relive the past. “They lose the strength to stand up. They just lay there, eying everyone that goes by, praying for even a bite of food. They’d take the most rotten thing you could find over the pain, cause even if it was poison, at least it’d help them stop hurting quicker.”

            “When the tank runs dry, they’re at their worst. Just breathing, begging, until that last second. You see the life drain out of their eyes, and, in an instant, it’s gone. That fire of life goes out, and they go limp, like cutting the strings of a puppet.” I looked at my arms, almost seeing the body again. “At least your soldiers didn’t have to sit there, waiting for help that would never come, or the death that took its sweet time.”

            “But… How could that come to be? Do you not have systems set up to aid such Souls?” I laughed, but it wasn’t genuine. It was short, more of a scoff.

            “Yeah right, the rich guys on top who make the rules couldn’t give half a crap for a street rat. So what if we’re out there starving? They’ve got a full course meal of lobster and wine to get to, in a house bigger than they’d ever need kept nice and toasty in the cold night.”

            “That cannot be! No one could be so cruel, so callous, so…”

            “They looked right at us.” My muscles were clenching again, even the thought sparking something primal. “I was sitting there with his body, he was crying for help, there were people right at the other side of the alleys. What did they do? Nothing! They saw us, pointed, but that was it. Their time was too important to spend helping people like us. He died right when the sun set, no one there to hear his last words but me. He was begging, he needed food, but I couldn’t help him. I was too weak. Too damn weak.”

            I pulled the bandanna off my head, flipping it inside out to see the only thing he left behind. It was hard to make out the crudely drawn abs, eyes going blurry, but it was the best reminder I had. Time even made me forget his name, but I wouldn’t let that image slip.

            “This is the only thing I could save, his bandanna. He drew this on it after his first year. Don’t matter how we got there, we all had one wish. To get stronger, tougher, to survive. Here I am, but do you see him?” Another dry chuckle. “It’s not fair. Only the tough guy gets to live? That’s not right.” I heard another laugh, but it was more upbeat, in my head.

            “Then they tried to take Share. You know what happens to sick little girls in an orphanage back home? Nothing. They’re left to suffer unless they can find a way to pay for their own special meds. The place is cheap, some fund laundering setup for the higher ups. If she went there, she’d’ve died in a year, so I took her as far away from them as possible.”

            “But after that, I couldn’t leave her on the street.” The picture was clear as day, and it still made me sick. “The first signs were setting in. Thin arms and legs, the first few ribs showing up, cheeks sucked in. Another week, she’d be on the ground begging, just like him. And you think being a little girl’d help her chances? No, death doesn’t care, just like the people walking by. I was the only one. I couldn’t fail again, I just couldn’t.”

            “I started small, swiping from market stalls and the like. Learned how to use a board, make get aways quicker. I got faster, tougher, stronger, because she couldn’t. I have to be strong, for her.” My eyes focused, the deep seated anger and purpose that drove me shining through. “I won’t fail someone again. The world let my old pal down, he’s dead. It let Share down, and I won’t let it happen again. I don’t care if I have to turn this cave upside down, break that stupid seal with my own bare hands, I won’t let her suffer. I refuse. I…”

            I was silenced when she pulled me into her arms. As strong as I was, I just didn’t have it in me to fight back. Always fighting, never stopping, it got hard to keep it up forever. The hug was warm, and it got harder to hold it in.

            “You are a strong, caring person, but you do not have to act alone anymore. I am here for you and Sherri, and I will not allow more harm to befall her. You are welcome in my home for as long as you need. I will not abandon you, leave you to rot, nor forget you. I will take care of you as my own if you will let me.”

            I started to shake again, but not in anger. I couldn’t hold back anymore, throwing my arms around her. For the first time in years, I let myself cry.

            “Thank you, thank you… Tor… M…” I wanted to say it. Part of me was trying to be careful, but I couldn’t care about that. “Mom.” Her arms around me pulled a little harder, and I knew I made the right choice.

 

-

 

            We made it to the top of the stairs leading back into the Ruins. I was thinking a lot more clearly, and I actually felt safe. Mom leading us home, Share right beside me, looking over her new toy knife, I felt like things would be alright.

            The footsteps at my side stopped, replaced by a stuttered thud. I stopped and turned, seeing that she had fallen. She was scrunched up in pain, and her arms were under her belly. I was quick to go down with her, setting my arm under hers.

            “Share, what’s wrong?” Seeing I was with her made things a little easier, fighting down the pain.

            “My stomach hurts, but I think I’ll be okay.” That was a relief, I thought something broke. I let out a sigh of relief, helping her to her feet, but leaving an arm down for her to hold onto.

            “Come on, it’s about time for another dose anyway. That should help you out.” She seemed content, leaning her head against me. I noticed her arms were empty and looked back. She had dropped her knife on the ground.

            _‘Oh well, it’s no biggie. We can just pick it up next time we swing through town.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I couldn't telegraph my intent any clearer if my name was Duramboros. Nice and blunt. Fitting, considering the character.
> 
> I had a nice bumper in my usual writing schedule, so why not? Early update!


	5. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowers, so beautiful, so aromatic, but remember, every rose...
> 
> ...eh, you all know the quote. Let's just get to the chapter.

            A good night’s sleep on a real bed, a stomach full of snail pie, and, to top it off, a morning walk through the Ruins. I didn’t think the day could get any better. Mom was leading us, watering can in hand, down the halls I was rushing through the first time.

            Now I could actually take the time to look around. It had that same empty feeling as the city, but the smaller space made it less noticeable. I was used to the purple stone they dug this place out of, the cool colors making me feel calm. It was a lot like our hut in the woods, but this place probably had less cops after us. Long as that door held anyway. Even if it didn’t, I trusted Mom to have our backs.

            Man, that was still crazy. In a few days, it went from me and Share in the middle of nowhere to me, Share, and a parent figure I actually liked under the middle of nowhere. The noise of the city and sunlight in exchange for a family and security? Sounded like a good trade to me. If we could just find something for Share to replace her medicine, things would be perfect.

            For now, we were taking it easy, heading back to where we fell down in the first place. Mom said she had a field of flowers there she looked after. Apparently running into us kept her away from it for a few days, so Share and me thought it was only right that we came along to keep her company.

            That said, I almost wished Share stayed home while we were out. I liked having her along, but the way she was moving made me nervous. She was limping heavier than usual, and she struggled to hide a thick, hacking cough. It might’ve been how hard she was going through town yesterday, or maybe how active she was playing with her kitchen.

            Still, she said she’d be fine, and I knew full well she had to keep her muscles moving. If worse came to worse, I could just carry her home. She wasn’t all that heavy.

            “Alright, you two, I need you to stay in the middle of the room for a minute.” We stopped in a rectangular space, the ground mostly thick purple aside from six light patches by the walls, three to our left and right. “There are false floors near the edges that will give out under the slightest pressure. I know where the switch to move forward is, so please remain still while I clear the way.”

            She went to the closest bright patch on our right, and, like she said, the floor cracked under her, sending her even further underground. She looked like she knew what she was doing, so I didn’t think anything of it. I just parked it right there, center stage, waiting for her to get back.

            “Good thing she got us through here the first time. Falling like that out of nowhere’d suck, right?” The answer was delayed, and it was just another cough. This one sounded different though, harsher, and kind of… wet? I turned around, Share leaning on the wall for support. She was cringing bad, eyes screwed shut, an arm over her gut. There was something dripping from her lips, leaving a trail down her chin.

            Something red.

            “Whoa, Share!” I jumped back, trying to hurry to her side.

            “Billy, it… everything… hurts…” The closer I got, the worse she looked. There were heavy lines under her eyes, and her whole frame quivered with each step. Her eyes creaked open, the whites more bloodshot than white. There was a silent cry for help, the light in them dimmed. They shot open a second later, dropping out of sight as the dirt under her feet fell apart. She disappeared into one of the pits.

            “SHARE!” I dived headfirst after her, trying to reach out and grab her mid drop again, but she was too far. I couldn’t even see her, my eyes getting clogged by a coat of loose dirt. It burned, but I could work through it.

            My arms crunched under me, all of my weight smashing against them when I hit the ground. It was softer than dirt and reminded me of that first flower patch, but I couldn’t be sure. All my blurred vision let me see was a layer of red across the ground.

            “Share, where are you!?”

            “Bill… ly…” My ears still worked fine, drawing my attention left. There was a break in the red, her faded orange sweater and yellow hair making her easy to track. She was face down and barely moved. I scrambled, picking her up, ignoring the burning sensation in my arms. Soft as possible, I flipped her back around to get a better look.

            “Why the Hell didn’t you tell us earlier? We could’ve stopped to rest or something!”

            “Sorry.” Her speech was slurred, restrained, and her lungs had a little gurgle to them. “I thought it would stop soon, but…” She started coughing again. I felt a splatter against my shirt, and my skin crawled. My eyes drifted down, afraid of what I would see. Against the plain white of my sleeveless shirt, about as big as my palm, was a patch of warm red. And the blood in me started to burn.

            A frail body in my arms.

            _‘…no…’_

            Eyes begging for help.

            _‘No…’_

            Death hanging overhead.

            **“NO!”**

            My eyes tightened in their sockets, vision improving quicker. Red blood on my shirt. Red flowers beneath us. Red bricks and ground on every side. I was aware of even the smallest detail. Some of the petals rustled, parting to reveal a huge, red carrot.

            “Hey, I need my fresh sleep, guy! Why don’t you…” My focus became a razor’s edge, cutting through the weed’s senses. _‘In our way. In our way.’_

            “GET AWAY!” The thing jumped back, burrowing itself back into the dirt. My muscles tensed, ready to pounce on the moron who wanted to mess with…

            “Tight… too tight…” My grip loosened, all attention going back to Share. I ran a hand through her blonde hair, hoping it would help keep her calm. Wait…

            Her ribbon, it wasn’t tied in anymore! My eyes darted around the room, trying to track it. Did it fall off and into the flower patch? Her increasingly pained hacking tore me out of the search. I’d have to come back for it later. For now, I needed a way out.

            There was a door on one side with stairs leading up. I didn’t have too many choices, so I bolted that way, Share in hand. The hall got a lot darker, but, somehow, I found myself back on the top floor, and Mom was looking down into the pit I just got out of.

            “Bill, Sherri, are you down there? I told you not to run off…”

            “MOM!” My voice sounded cracked, but that was fine, it made her turn around quicker. She only needed a glance at Share to know something was horribly wrong.

            “Oh my God, what happened?” She was over too fast to track, a hand on her forehead.

            “Stomach, it hurts…”

            “I don’t know, she was walking along with a bloody mouth, then she fell in the hole and I… I…” It was getting harder and harder to talk, a ball of raw feeling flooding my throat. I couldn’t talk, only think. All this shit, it was driving me crazy! It was… It was…

            _‘…familiar.’_

            “Come, we must get her home, now.”

 

-

 

            The dash back was as blurry as it was painful. By the time I got her to the bed, I could barely feel my arms. My fingers were all numb, probably from the landing. I didn’t care, as long as it meant we could find something for Share. I left the covers under her, a slow sweat starting to break out on her skin.

            “Throat sore. Billy, please…” I fought back the pressure in my eyes. Had to stay strong, for her.

            “It’s okay, Share, it’s okay. We’re gonna find a way to fix you up, just like always. Mom’s getting water right now. Here, I’ll get you some pills. That’ll take the edge off.” I struggled to jam a hand into my pocket, fumbling to get a grip on the bottle. “I’m here for you, you hear? I’m always…!” My hand cramped up, and my hold loosened just a second too long. The medicine bottle fell to the floor, pills spilling out everywhere. I swore under my breath, scrambling to grab a few of them. My numb hands paired with the oil covering made it too hard to get a firm grasp. I dully heard the footsteps behind me.

            “Here, let me help.” Mom got down to one knee, hand going down after a couple of them. “They might be a bit unsanitary, but the pain nullifying should more than make up for…” Her words faded away when she got a couple in her palm. She was rubbing two fingers together, a small greasy sheen on her fur. “How… how did these become so slick?” Her eyes were small, shrinking by the second, and it just made me more nervous.

            “I think it was from the flowers we dropped on before you found us. The lid was loose, so the pills kind of flew everywhere. Why does it…?”

            “Buttercups…” The way she said that, distant, whispery, wasn’t right. The snow white of her fur was looking more and more like a ghostly pale. “Those yellow flowers? Buttercups, and their oils are highly corrosive. Even a drop can eat through the lining of the stomach. And these pills are drenched…”

            My heart stopped, my insides collapsing under their own weight. Corrosive, through the stomach? Every pill I picked up had some, and she’s been… I fell to my knees, arms limp, mouth hanging open. It was like someone put a bullet through my heart.

            “It’s all my fault.” My eyes started to water. “I fed her the pills. I got that stuff there. I…” My hands clamped so hard I thought I felt the skin break. “I’m such a dumbass!” I slammed a fist against the bedpost, the pain barely even registering. “If I hadn’t been stuffing her with them since we got here, she’d be fine! She wouldn’t be stuck like this! Why do I always…!?” A small, warm hand wrapped around mine.

            “Billy, please, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know.” She tried pulling me closer, but was too weak. I made it easier, crawling back to my feet so I could look at her. She tried putting on a smile, but I could tell it was forced. “It’s okay, it’s okay…”

            I slid my arms around her, burying my face in the sheets. The fabric started to moisten beneath my eyes. She was so caring, and I got her into this mess. She didn’t deserve being stuck with me, the repeat screw up. But I was what she had, and I needed to find something, now.

            “Mom, please tell me, there’s a cure, right?” Seconds passed in silence, all the answer I really needed.

            “No, there has only ever been one case like hers, and that was on a human before Asgore rekindled the fighting. We never did find a cure…” My eyes shot open, an idea starting to come together.

            “He might have it.” I shakily got back on my feet, face wiped off on the sheets. “If his people were running tests on the kid from before, they might’ve found something that can help. They might be able to…”

            “No, you must not!” Mom was by me in a blink, arms close to pulling me into a protective cocoon. “You heard me before, he has declared war. Any human who is caught is sentenced to death, if not worse! I cannot allow you to…”

            “If I don’t, she’s good as dead.” I didn’t pull away. Neither of us moved, but I didn’t know if I should look her in the eye. “Her guts are bleeding out on the inside. I’m not sure how long she has, a day, a week? Either way, she’s on a timer, and it’ll run dry if I can’t get her fixed up. This Asgore guy’s the only one who might have a fix and you know it.”

            “Bill…”

            “I don’t care what happens to me out there. I could die, sure, but it’s better than knowing for the rest of my life that I could’ve done something, anything, but didn’t!”

            “Bill, I…”

            “I’m sorry, Mom, but I can’t let that happen. I can’t let someone else die because I’m a useless dumb…!” The arms clamped around me, the jolt to my lungs cutting off my rant. I almost couldn’t tell I was shaking so bad until I had someone steady to lean against.

            “I do not like the idea, but I know that it is your best option, and I know how horrid it would be to relive that day.” She sniffled, and I thought I felt something wet and thin soak into parts of my shirt. Was she…? “You must take her directly to him, Asgore, at the farthest end of the cavern. If you can look him in the eyes, show him her pain, he may yet relent. It is not too late, for him or her. I would only slow you down and make it harder to sneak past, but I promise to be here for you whenever you…” I flipped around in her hold, trying to hug her back.

            “And we’ll be back soon as we can, I promise. And a street runt’s word is all he’s got.” The hug warmed up, an understanding reached. She would be here for us, and I’d return the favor. I owed it to her and Share. I owed it to my family. “Door in the basement, right?” She nodded into my shoulder.

            “It will be chilly on the other side, so you may wish to wrap yourselves in something.”

            “I’ll be fine, long as I keep my muscles moving.” Share, on the other hand, needed to hold on to as much energy as she could. I slipped out of Mom’s hold, taking the bed’s top blanket by the edge. Carefully, I pulled it up and around her, repeating it on the other side and foot to make a nice bundle for her. It’d keep the cold out and hopefully take most of the rumbling. I lifted her out of bed as smooth as possible, flipping my nearby board up and under my arm. I’d need its speed more than ever.

            “We’ll be back around soon, and she’ll be good as new.” I didn’t have time to burn on long goodbyes, especially when I was under word to see her again. I made my way out the door, heading through the hall with my eyes set on the stairs leading forward. Before I left, I heard Mom one more time.

            “Be safe, my children.” My smile was small, almost bitter, tears trickled down my cheeks, and an uncomfortable thrum rolled from the back of my head. It was only a temporary leave…

            …so why did it feel like something was wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post yesterday, but it's a little hard to concentrate in a world of so many distractions. You're all dang lucky my new Vita ran out of juice, or you wouldn't be seeing me for another week. And that just won't do, will it? I'm far too emotionally sadistic to do that to you all. You're welcome! :D
> 
> (Mark your calendars, first (and probably last) emoji I've ever used. I blame Tom.)


	6. Lifeline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To what lengths are you willing to go when you're needed the most? Is no act too shaded, no deal too vile?

            The stone door slammed shut behind me, and I knew right away that I made a mistake. Cold wind blasted across my face, my feet half sunken into snow, and I could already feel the shivers setting in. She said it’d be chilly, but this was just plain frozen! Well, Mom did have thick fur and those robes, so maybe it was just a little cold for her. I, on the other hand, was in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, not nearly as good.

            At least I had the brain power to bundle Share up. From inside her blanket, I doubted she could tell how cold it was past the air she was breathing. I tilted her towards me, keeping the wind off her face, when I noticed her eyes were shut. She was still breathing, slow, unsteady, but she was out cold. Her body must’ve been slowing itself down to keep the bleeding as small as it could. It gave me more time, but the clock still wasn’t big enough for me to take it easy. I had to get moving.

            Lucky enough, the snow was split up by a dirt road. Blue dirt, but it didn’t look like it’d put up more of a fight than the normal stuff. It was a quick switch from running to boarding, any jolting Share’d feel cut down to the occasional pump of a foot, and my speed started picking up. It made the cold air feel colder, but I didn’t mind. I could take a little frostbite if it made the trip easier. Case and point, this pit in the ground, a foot or two longer than I was tall, wasn’t even a road bump, an ollie popping us over it without losing our pace.

            I glanced to my sides, nothing but thick, leafless woods for miles. I didn’t think diving deeper was too bright an idea, no signs of there even being life out there. The path under board was the best bet I had for finding a way to the king, and I didn’t have much choice but to play the cards I was dealt.

 

-

 

            It was about when I found myself on the peak of one of the flat topped mountain things that I started cursing myself out. The wind wasn’t thinning, not in the least. It seemed like the higher I got, the stronger it got, and, to top it off, it wasn’t even going the right way. I had to push against a wall of air just to keep moving, but I didn’t have a choice.

            At that point, I didn’t care if I lost my damn arms by the end of it, a feeling like layers of ice on the bones themselves setting in, so long as Share got out of it alive. I held her as tight as I thought I could without hurting her, hoping what little body heat I had left was helping her hold out.

            All I could do was focus on the road, wherever it went. I just kept going forward, over mountains, through woods, whatever. Each pump of my leg got us closer to the king, and I’d only stop moving when we got there or when I died.

            I thought I was on lower ground than before, tree line around me thickening up again, when I spotted a speck of warm color alongside the whites, blacks, and blues I was used to. I couldn’t tell what it actually was, only that it was yellow. My eyes must’ve been blurring up from the cold, one of the worst signs you could get. It meant there wasn’t enough energy left to keep me working right. Soon enough, I knew I’d start locking up.

            My point proved itself quick, legs buckling under me in the middle of a push. I fell to my knees, my right grinding along the dirt. I couldn’t even feel it well enough to tell if it hurt, my nerves long frosted over. I tried pushing myself back up, but they weren’t listening, muscles clamped in place. It was only holding onto Share in her blanket that kept my arms from doing the same, if only well enough to keep her off the ground.

            “Ugh… God damnit!” I felt something on the second try, and it wasn’t pleasant. I definitely hurt my right knee on the landing, a sharp sting cutting halfway up and down the leg. There was a short lived warmth around the cap, probably the blood leaking out and over my skin, but it didn’t hold out long, freezing over into a patch of red ice. I started shaking, forcing my body to work up the energy to go for a third.

            “Who goes there?” My ears perked, a heavy, kind of scratchy voice coming in. It reminded me of the sort of thing you heard from the windows of an old folks home. At least my neck still worked, letting me see that the yellow speck was closer, much closer, maybe five feet away. At that distance, I could tell that there were actually two, and I could tell what they were.

            In front of me, apparently not even a little bothered by the cold, was a pair of monsters in heavy, golden armor. The one who was talking looked like some sort of turtle, green skin showing the smallest signs of starting to wrinkle up. To his left was some sort of two legged dog, about the same height, whose fur was as white as the snow. Their eyes were trained on me, not even blinking.

            “Well, Gerse, it looks like Asgore was right. Another human’s come to weed us out, a wee one at that.” The dog’s accent was thick, like the type of loud Scottish guy that popped up in movies. I couldn’t tell what he was saying about me, and I didn’t care. These guys sounded like they were on first name bases with the king, which meant they’d know the best way to get me to him.

            “I… I need…” It was then that I realized how hard it was hitting me, breathing such cold air. It was like the water in my throat was starting to freeze, too, making it difficult to work it into talking. Not that they were interested in listening, the turtle reaching for the pole sticking up from behind his back.

            “You need to hold still. It’s my job as Captain of the Guard to tell you that humans are not welcome here. As decreed by his majesty, any kin of man that come here are to be executed on sight.” He pulled his arms forward, drawing out the biggest hammer I’d ever seen. The gold head was half as big as him and easily outsized me.

            “Looks to me like the kid’s already hurtin’ pretty bad. Make it quick, for his sake?” The turtle nodded.

            “Yeah, frostbit like a glacier. Listen, we don’t like the idea of having to kill you, but Asgore’s word’s the law. Stay real still and I’ll get it over with quick, okay? I promise, whatever comes next, it won’t be nearly as cold.” The hammer went towards the sky, his arms clenching, gathering up all his strength to put behind the swing, and my heart stopped. I knew first hand that gold wasn’t light, and that much would flatten me and Share in one drop.

            I put as much energy into my legs as I could, hoping I could even get a limp out of them, but nothing. No getting up, no loosening out, not even a twitch. They were as good as dead, and the real deal wasn’t too far away.

            _‘No, not yet…’_ I kept trying to move. My body wasn’t listening, but I kept trying. Looking up, it was like time was slowing down, the hammer just starting to drop, inch by inch. My eyes dipped, staring at Share, still asleep, skin starting to pale in my arms. _‘Not yet, damnit! I can’t fail her again!’_

_‘I can help.’_ The creepy, high pitched voice in my head was back. Its words echoed in me, my heart beating faster at the thought. _‘I can make you stronger, but only if you let me. Deal?’_ My gaze trailed up, the hammer halfway to me. Staring death in the eyes, the voice’s offer sounded good to me.

            _‘Deal!’_ The second I thought it, I felt a fire burn in the back of my head. It almost hurt, but I could tell it was helping. The heat started to spread, branching through my veins, and I could almost feel my skin again. My muscles pulsed, new life flooding through me. My slowed thinking overclocked, and my instincts started screaming. I couldn’t waste time fighting these guys, but I needed to push through them. My end goal, Asgore, was on the other side, and I couldn’t have them getting in the way. I reached an arm out, the other more than tough enough to hold Share up, and I held my palm flat.

            The hammer struck with a boom, the air itself breaking apart on impact, but my hand wasn’t impressed, and my body was still standing. Before the shock could sink into them, I shoved back, the turtle’s weapon carrying him back with it. I pushed forward as hard as I could, popping my board off the ground and ramping over the flat chest piece of his armor. I was on the move again, and better than ever.

            I landed flat after no less than five full seconds of air, that strong momentum still going. Each push only made it faster, every shove like a rocket taking off. My insides were burning, pushed to their max. My bones quaked and my muscles ached, but I was on too much of a roll to care. Screw what happened to me, this power was exactly what I needed to get there. And if the king wouldn’t listen to reason, I felt more than good enough to beat some into him.

            _‘I owe you one, weird dude in my head!’_ If it weren’t for its deal, I’d be a smear in the dirt, even if the side effects were kind of freaky. There was something else back there, another sort of pressure trying to reach across my brain. It was like a claw was trying to grab me, but it was too small, withering away as soon as it came. I shrugged it off, more important things to focus on. As I shook off the strange feeling, I dully heard something scraping through dirt.

            _‘Look out!’_ My brain flared as the board under me slammed to a stop, my body still holding onto its motion too tight. I started flipping down, feet launching off the board, when I saw what I crashed into. It was some sort of weapon, same material as the turtle’s hammer, but this one was more cone shaped. Its end was wide, a handle sticking straight out of it, and it looked like it would shrink to a point at the other end, lodged deep in the ground, where the dirt looked freshly split. It was a trap, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

            The force of impact shook my arms, hold letting up just enough to send Share’s bundle flying. It landed a good distance farther out than me, rolling over a few times before coming to a stop. I tried to get my feet under me when I landed so I could run straight after her, but something else was faster. A hand grabbed my ankle midair, squeezing hard while the rest of me slammed face first into the dirt.

            “Oh, think ye can go an’ do that to me Captain and rush off, eh? Well no dice, kid.” Looking back, it was the dog, a scowl over his eyes and a long, empty sheathe dangling from his back. The turtle wasn’t too far behind, pace more slow now that they had a hold of me.

            “I get your struggling, but we have our orders. Sorry, but we’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta…”

            “Billy…” The voice was thin, watered down, weak. The hand around my leg opened just enough for me to strike, free foot shooting back to nail him on the inside of his elbow. The hand came off and I flew forward, pulling the blankets apart so I could get a better look.

            The trail of blood was back on her chin, skin white as a ghost, and her ribs were pushed out a little. It was like the water weight filling her up was too much to hold back, her bones pushing away from her lungs as they filled out. A hand on them confirmed the thing holding them out was liquid, the slight, squishy give telling me too much. Worst of all, her eyes were glazing over, the fire was giving out.

            “No, no, no, Share! You’ve gotta hold on! Please, talk to me…”

            “Was… was he carrying her this whole…?”

            “Billy?” I took her hand, bringing it up to my cheek, hoping some of my warmth would rub off. “It’s okay. We… It’s been coming a while, right? I… I’m just not as strong…” She put on a smile. It wasn’t some fake thing to comfort me. Somehow, she put on a real smile. It shook me to my core.

            “No, you can still make it. We can get you to Asgore, get him to cough up a cure. Don’t… don’t leave me!” I could feel the tears building up, but I couldn’t give less of a shit anymore. I just wanted her to stay. “You’re all I’ve got. You’re all I’ve _ever_ had. Please…”

            “No… You have Miss Toriel, remember? You can still… You…” She was too weak to even cough, little sputters lined with drops of red. She forced it back, eyes opening to show off the last glimmers of life. Bright, beautiful, terrifying. “Without you, this would’ve happened years ago. I owe everything to you, so please… Don’t cry. Th…thank you…”

            Her head wilted against my arm, curling into my hold. Her eyes drifted shut, breathing slowing to nothing. With that same little smile, her body stopped moving altogether. Desperately, I put a few fingers to the side of her neck. Nothing. No pulse. No movement. No warmth. Only a limp, dead body in my arms. I held it close, hugging it, running a hand through its hair, eyes leaking like busted pipes.

            “Share, wh… why? Why’d you have to go and… We could’ve gotten there! We could’ve… could…” My insides were twisting, churning, more like a goo instead of meat. I forgot about the cold, about my skinned, still bleeding knee, about the guys staring at me. I didn’t care who saw it anymore. I sat there and I cried, half of my world crumbling away because I was a clumsy dumbass.

            Share was doing alright until I tripped up. There was still some bleeding, but I was sure it wasn’t fast enough yet to put her down like that. Something must’ve ruptured when she landed, a bigger gap in her to leak out of. That’s what killed her, blood being where it wasn’t supposed to, choking her to death from the inside out. If she hadn’t hit the ground, she would’ve been alive, and she wouldn’t’ve hit the ground if I hadn’t flipped over the…

            …No, it wasn’t my fault, not entirely. I was doing fine until that damn spear whatever got in the way. And it was only in the way because of _them_. Because of that damn mutt. He’s the one who put it there, why else would there be an empty sheathe on his back? It wasn’t my fault, it was **his**!

            I lowered Share back into her blanket, wrapping the ends over her. She didn’t deserve to be left out in the open cold. Let her rest in peace. My legs were shaking when I stood up, but not because they were wearing out. No, far from it. It was more like there was too much energy there to contain, vibrating the only way to let enough of it go to keep working. My whole body was like that, quaking with raw power, that burning feeling soaking through every bone, every muscle, every flake of skin and strand of hair.

            I slid around, movements slow, measured, to look them in the eyes. They were backing away, the turtle clutching his hammer for dear life, the mutt edging back to his spear as carefully as possible. I could see the sweat dripping from their heads, they were afraid. **Good**.

            “What did we do to you?” My voice was rumbling, the very air I breathed ringing with the building rage. “Some old coots who aren’t even alive anymore crossed you, so you go and kill a little girl who might not’ve even been related to ‘em? _That’s_ your idea of revenge?” My eyes locked on the mutt, who was frozen in place, backtracking stopped by whatever he saw in me. My sight blurred for a moment, but not long, his rightfully horrified face tinting red.

            “Look, Titan and me didn’t know you were carrying an injured, if we did…”

            “CAN IT!” His mouth clamped shut when my focus switched, the force of my stare locking his jaw in place. He stayed that way like an obedient accomplice, letting me go back to the murderer.

            “Share had her whole life ahead of her. She was smart, full of life, had people who loved her…” My mind flashed with a picture of Mom, waiting by that stupid stone door, waiting for the little girl who wouldn’t be coming back. It only made the flames burn hotter. “She had so much potential, trudging through the hard times because she trusted that I could make it better, that her time in the Sun was coming. Now, she’s dead, leaving me here to wonder why. What did she do to deserve this?” I took in a lungful of air, trying to douse the fires growing therein.

            “ **W H A T D I D S H E D O ?** ”

            My back arched forwards, body falling to a hunch. My stance widened to keep balance, the fire screaming through me. My teeth gritted as hard as possible, the shaking getting worse by the second.

            “Y O U W I L L P A Y . F O R E V E R Y D A Y Y O U T O O K , E V E R Y H A P P Y M O M E N T W I P E D A W A Y , Y O U W I L L S U F F E R .”

            The earth shattered beneath me, cracking under my weight. It couldn’t support my presence any longer. The murderer bolted back, rushing to rearm himself. He didn’t deserve the chance.

            I skipped right, arms wrapping around the trunk of a dead tree. It didn’t offer resistance, uprooting with the smallest of tugs. I jumped as high as I could, flipping once to build momentum before I released, an arrow almost big enough to suit my purpose.

            It struck home perfectly, creating a divide between him and his spear. Crumbling wood falling atop it, splinters spreading through the air, lodging into his fur and, if fortune smiled, his flesh. I could have hit him directly, ended it right there, but he didn’t deserve the pleasure of a quick end. He had to pay. He had to suffer, just like she did.

            He turned around to face me head on, reserved to having to do it bare handed, but it was already too late. I was on him quick, lashing out with a right hook, aiming to nail him in the jaw. He was barely able to move his arm in time to block me, fist reverberating off his armor.

            The air on the back of my head twisted slightly, like it was being pushed along by something. I dropped down, landing hands first, just slipping under the charging head of a golden hammer. The turtle wanted some, too? Fine, I could handle him. I could take them both. No monster could stop me forever.

            I kicked left, sending my body pivoting on the tip of my hand. I was able to hook the turtle by his ankle, dragging it out from under him. He tumbled like a stack of bricks, landing belly side up. I flipped left, getting the feeling that something like that wasn’t going to go without a counter. Sure enough, a metal clad fist came crashing down where I was seconds before, pressing down to the wrist into dirt.

            I was on my feet as soon as I landed, launching forward to take advantage of the opening. He was strong enough to bust out, I could tell, so time was short. I was lucky enough to be on the side where his arm was in use, leaving a big target on his torso. I swung as quick as I could, planting jab after jab into his ribs. His armor started to bend under my assault, his grunts telling me I was getting more than my point across.

            In the corner of my eye, I saw the turtle starting to get back to his feet, rolling over off his shell, so I decided I needed to get a big finisher off while I had the opening. I wrapped an arm around his back, reaching as far back with the other as I could before sending it off on the biggest uppercut I could manage. It almost pressed straight through the armor plating over his guts, pushing metal into his underbelly alongside the force of impact.

            His grunts turned into a pained sort of choking, jaw open wide, eyes breaking out in a web of white lines over the darker portions, throat grabbing for as much air as he could take in. I pressed the hand almost in his gut up as far as I could. I don’t think I was able to break him open, but I was certain how much hurt I was dishing out. He was suffering, just like I wanted. I leaned into his ear, pushing out a message through my increasingly strained throat.

            “This is for Share, you tin canned bastard!” Even that was hard to get out, vocal cords crushed between overworked muscle mass. At least the internal strangling by power came across, the threat coming off as a beastly growl. He looked at me, eyes shrunk, like I was his new worst nightmare. The thought made me sadistically happy. “That’s right, never forget me, the face of your personal Hell!”

            I yanked my arm out of his armor, nasty dent locked in place, before jumping away. His partner was on his feet again, fearful eyes undercutting the point of that giant hammer.

            “How, how are you doing all this? You’re just a kid!” The fire inside flared, threatening to burst.

            “I’m no kid, you overgrown lizard, I’m karma. I’m your shadow, the spook who’ll always be watching. I am Bill, the price of your sin!” My limbs tightened, a coil about to burst. The turtle’s stance stiffened, shifting to the defensive, while the murderer tried in vain to remember which way was up through the haze of pain. He pressed a hand over the plate bent into his gut, trying to claw it back into position without much success, but he was still standing.

            _‘Hmm, not dead. Guess that’s why he’s in the Guard.’_

            The murderer breathed deep, filling his lungs with as much air as they could handle to try to work through the near hole in his stomach, but the way it came out caught me off guard. It was a slow chuckle, almost bitter. He was still in pain, but he laughed like a tired old man.

            “The Hell you laughing at!?”

            “Heh… ye… ye ‘ave a sense of honor, eh? Not killing us cause… cause we’re monsters. Killing us cause we killed one of yours. A sister?” He was digging at that still fresh wound? Cheap shot, especially from someone who was about to die.

            “Shut your trap, flea bag. Don’t matter if you’re monster, human, or even some damn alien. You hurt my family, so I’m gonna hurt you worse.” His laugh only got bigger, louder. Still limited by his wound, but he didn’t seem to care. He lifted a shaking hand, pressing it into a fold in his waist armor, kind of like a metal pocket.

            “We’re more… more alike than ye’d think.” His hand pulled out, throwing something brown my way. When it landed, I recognized it as a leather wallet, opened to show a picture of two white dogs in the right flap. They were pretty small, one still in the puppy stage, the other not too far ahead, and were a lot like surface dogs in all but that spark of thought in the eyes.

            “Those’re me wee ones, Greater and Lesser. You get one guess which is which, heh heh, oof. They’re bright pups, more’n enough energy ‘tween ‘em to run laps ‘round their old man. But they won’t get a chance to use it well, trapped underground like this. How ye think that makes me feel? I’ll tell ye, it’s an awful feeling.”

            “I want to help them see the surface, feel the sun we’ve been denied for generations, denied by humans. Fighting ye is a means to that end. You see? I just want what’s best by me kids.” His laughing gave way to a rough cough, wracking his whole body. The only thing keeping his partner from jumping to his aid is the fact that he was the one thing between me and my target.

            “But… but now look at me. Trying to help my family… I went and ruined another.” Wait… were those tears? “I’m as bad as the humans who did this to us. I… I’m sorry…” They started leaking over his muzzle, leaving dark paths through his fur. His recoils weren’t for the pain anymore, they were for his regret. “I don’t deserve forgiveness. I don’t deserve to live after what I did. But please, let this end with us. My family’s the one thing I’ve always had. They’re all I… all I…”

            My blood cooled enough for me to think, and the thoughts only made the growing ache in my head hurt worse. He was right. I couldn’t forgive him, I _wouldn’t_ forgive him, I would make him pay, but I could understand. Trapped underground or in a city that just didn’t care, family was the one thing that could keep guys like us moving.

            _‘You’re actually considering mercy? Why? He wronged you, why not strike back harder? Is that not your way?’_

            _‘No, that’d be stupid. His kids didn’t have any part in this, damnit.’_ My body unwound, that stocked up tension gone, but the underlying heat remained. It was my power, my body, and I would chose how to use it.

            I was about to tell him as much, but a loud snap drew my attention to the nearby woods. Where I expected to see someone standing over a broken branch, I found someone standing under a lightly burning tree, no further than bark deep at most. Down there, backing away from the smoldering alarm, was some short, human shaped thing made of fire dressed up in weirdly fancy dress pants and a plain white button shirt. It didn’t have a mouth, or even a face to emote with, but I could somehow tell its expression was one of growing fear, and it was centered on me.

            “Grillby, what the blazes are you doing here!? Your mother’d have a conniption if she caught you, boy, let alone this close to a human!” That was the magic word, fear turning to outright terror as the flames rolling off his head becoming sporadic. I took a step toward him, hands up and open.

            “Look kid, I’m not…” That only made things worse, him jumping back, face darting left and right to try to find an escape route. “Hey, would you calm down and list…!” My sentence was cut off by a pressure around my throat, a green arm that was intent on not letting me move.

            “Get out of here!” Wait, did they think I would hurt him? That was crazy, he didn’t have anything to do with this, either! My beef was just with the dog for hurting Share, not some random kid. I wouldn’t put a hand on him…

            …but they didn’t know that. The thought hit me like lightening. The only one who really got my rage was that dog. The other two, the turtle and fire guy? All they saw was a human on an angry bender, the same thing that’s become a constant boogyman, hanging literally right over their heads. To them, I was the cruel, callous monster. My stomach dropped at the thought. Was that really what Share’d want out of me?

            “Hold it, stop!” The dog’s yell dragged me out of my brain, eyes focusing on the kid, who was backing away step by step. He rose his foot one more time, pulling it behind him, setting it on…

            “Kid, wait!” Too late. His foot went down, but was met with nothing, his body’s balance dangling precariously over one of the hundreds of cliffs. His arms waved around in circles, fighting to put his feet on solid ground, but snow wasn’t the most supportive of things, his one grounded foot edging over the empty space.

            My vision blurred, a hundred thoughts zooming through my head. Soft voices, kind eyes looking up at mine, innocent spirits wiped out in an instant. This was familiar, too familiar. My heart beat faster for this kid I didn’t even know, an instinctual chord plucked as his life grew closer to tumbling the long way down. His body slipped backwards, too far to recover from, and everything I had tensed.

            “G E T O F F !”

            I tore the arm bar from around my neck and bolted forwards. My arms stretched out, reaching for the child, racing against death. Not again, _never_ again. By the time I got to the drop, he was too far down to reach. Below him, snowy fields gave way to jagged rock, more than sharp enough to pierce whatever dropped on them. I only had one choice and one chance, legs thrumming as I released the power therein.

            “I’m coming!” I leaped over the edge, pushing against the cliff wall in hope that the boost would let me catch up. I pressed my outstretched hands together into a rough cone, feeling the air slowing me down less and less. My hand was inches from his. I only needed a little more. “Grab my hand if you wanna live!”

            His expression was one of sheer panic, his fear of the rocks outweighing his fear of me. He wrapped his fingers around mine, and I grabbed his as hard as I could, dragging him into my chest, bundling him up in my arms. I could feel his fire eating at my skin, hands spared the same only by my tough leather gloves. It hurt like all Hell, but I didn’t care, refusing to let go over a little crisping. I flipped myself over, back down, a cushion between him and the ground. I gulped, knowing there weren’t any flowers down there to catch me this time.

            “Okay kid, Grillby, right? I need you to shut whatever counts for eyes, and don’t open them until someone else tells you to open them. What comes next, you really don’t need to see it. Got it?” He looked at me, a sort of cautious concern coming through, but he gave in with a nod. The fire on his face wavered a little bit, hopefully a sign he listened.

            In the seemingly slow descent, I looked back up at the cavern ceiling. Could Share see me down here under so much dirt? Oh well, it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to see this either. And if she was watching anyway, I could only hope she was proud. At least I saved someone, right?

            “This one’s for you, sis. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you soon.” My body jerked to a halt, held in the air by a force ramming through my chest. My neck locked up, preventing me from getting a better look, but I could see the tip of a rock sticking up not two inches from Grillby, stained red. I felt the lung on that side struggling against the pierce, working against the crushing weight of the rock and the liquid weight starting to flow into it.

            My mind was almost disconnected from my body, only kind of aware of the intense, burning pain, every little ache, and the gasping of my throat for air. I was growing more distant by the moment, the wound growing further and further from my thoughts.

            Back at the top of the cliff, I saw a green head poke over the side. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling from that distance, but I knew he was looking at me. I felt weirdly cocky, so I spent what little energy I had left for one last act of defiance. I proudly lifted my right hand into the air, fingers charred from holding onto a ball of fire so tight, and held the center most digit aloft. I only had enough strength to gurgle one more sentence out.

            “Humans, monsters, kids, those labels really are useless, aren’t they, Grill?” My body went limp, one finger salute sent dangling over my side. The pain had spread out into a dull ache over my whole being. I should’ve been writhing like a drying out worm, but I didn’t have the will to mess up the little guy’s safety pad. Dead or not, I was making damn sure at least one of us got out okay.

            _‘Hmm, how strange.’_ A dark figure leaned into view, somehow standing just above me without any solid ground there to stand on. It didn’t take long to recognize those off, crimson eyes, the same ones that met me after that first fateful fall. _‘To fight so hard for your beliefs, only to throw them away for another. Or perhaps, a continuation of those beliefs? Either way, what a waste of strength.’_

_‘I think I’ve learned something from our time together. To stand for your desire against all odds, I can respect that. You abandoned your newfound power at the last moment, but don’t worry, I won’t do the same. What I desire…’_ The figure shook, like it was dry laughing. It got harder and harder to keep track of it, my whole field of view getting swallowed up by darkness.

            _‘It was fun while it lasted. Sweet dreams, Bill.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I think that was my darkest death scene yet, and I have two cases of people blowing themselves up!
> 
> One chapter left in this entry, then we'll be off to the third and final duo of deceased droppers. Let's see how Asriel is holding up back in the waking world, yeah?
> 
> P.S. There's another game reference in this chapter, another RPG. Can you find it?


	7. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From life comes fire, the power of being, shared by all. From fire comes ash, the remains of that which has no more to give. From ash comes life, rising in the name of that which came before and all that comes after.

            I couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t smell anything. But I could feel everything. Too much, too many sensations. I twisted in place, trying to ease whatever was pressing deeper and deeper into me, but it did nothing.

            All over, nerves cried out in pain. Flesh pierced, holes running through me. Lungs pinned shut, breathing too hard. Stomach convulsing, something inside burning through it, releasing acids to places they weren’t supposed to be. A small fragment of something hot lodged in my heart, a line of fire undercut my guts, and every inch of skin burned. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t hear myself. It hurt, it hurt, please someone, make it stop make it stOP MAK E I T…

            “Asriel!”

            My eyes shot open, the instant sting of bright lights seemingly nothing. I gasped for air, insides burning from lack of oxygen. A hand shot to my chest, expecting to find a hole big enough to stick my arm through. All it found was that my shirt was soaked by a cold sweat. Now that I thought about it, the fur all over my body felt about the same, heavy and uncomfortable.

            Soon enough, reality won out, though that constant ache still lingered. I was able to force it to the back of my mind, letting me focus on what was really around me. I was awake, back in my room, laying on a nice, warm bed, and, looking down, my fur was smooth and unbroken, whatever wounds I had imagined long gone. I clenched the sheets under me, trying to reground myself in the present.

            “Oh God Asriel, you scared us half to death! I’ve never seen someone go through such violent convulsions. Maybe I should find Frisk, they would know…” I let my eyes wander over to Alphys, vaguely listening to her talk on and on. That nervous quirk actually made calming down easier, ironically enough, just hearing someone I recognized from this point in time a huge reassurance.

            “..’m okay, Alphys. Just tired, and kind of light headed.” That was a lie, of course, but there wasn’t any point in letting her worry over something she really couldn’t help. It always came. When exactly, I didn’t know, but it eventually came. Soon enough, it would leave, and I would be alright for a little while. It was more intense than usual that time, probably from how many Souls’ worth of deaths I was carrying now, but I would adjust. Besides, it was for the best, a constant reminder of what the flower did, and of what Chara did. It would help keep us from making the same mistakes again.

            “Hmm, that was… familiar. It’s hard to forget what a fatal wound does to someone, even for an old man.” I looked to my bedside, where Gerson still sat, though he was less cheery than usual, a small, thinking frown in place of his infectious grin. I guess he remembered what the others looked like when they died, so me going through the motions just reminded him…

            In the pit of my chest, something lit. It reminded me of Omega Flowey, how their Souls rejected me and turned. This time, it was smaller, focused on one spot, and it wasn’t breaking away. The force pushed its way straight into my mind, and I lost all feeling in my limbs as my consciousness was torn away from me. I caught a glimpse of the light that replaced me at the controls, a vibrant, piercing orange.

            I quickly shifted to the backseat view, aware of the outside world. As soon as I realized who was awake, I started digging my ‘heels’ in, working behind the scenes to at least take a little control back, careful not to touch anything that the mind would register just yet. Considering the last thing he saw before death, I had no idea how far he would go.

            My body launched itself to its feet, ignoring both the strain of my still recovering muscles and Alphys backing away. He was too preoccupied with old battles, gaze focusing to a razor’s edge, fists raised in a basic fighting stance.

            “Move an inch and I’ll screw you up, turtle man, we both know you can’t keep up!” Gerson just looked him in the eye, calm, collected, almost… accepting.

            “Well, I’ll give you that last one. You young people just keep getting stronger and stronger on me. I’ve seen more bumps in power since I retired a decade back than I saw the whole time I was on the Guard. Frankly, it’s a little unfair.”

            “Quit your ramblin’, and why ain’t you on your feet? You wanted to kill me so bad, right…?” He slowed down, finally realizing that something was different. He blinked, trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, but those wrinkles weren’t going away. “Hey, when’d you get so old?” He looked around, noticing the new surroundings. “And where’d all the snow go?”

            “Um, e-excuse me, Bill, right?” Alphys inched forward, careful to keep her movements slow and clear. She was sweating worse than me, and for a very good reason. The guy in control at the moment wasn’t all that predictable, and, in his mind, he was still in the middle of a long ended war. “I n-need you s-sit down, if you can. Things have changed since you died, and…”

            “Died!?” Alphys hid behind her clipboard, saying the exact wrong thing to calm him down. “What’chu mean died? I’m alive, standing here good as…” That’s when he looked at his own hand, noticing the new fur and claws. He rolled up his sleeve, then his shirt, then he looked over his shoulder to see the tail. “When the Hell’d I get all fuzzy!? And why do I kind of look like…?”

            _‘Mom?’_ He jumped, looking all around for the mysterious voice. _‘Hey, calm down, I’m in your head. Well, technically you’re in my head. Um, we’re still working out the details, it’s confusing.’_ I crossed my internal fingers, hoping small talk would bring him back down to reason.

            “Weird. This is weird.” He glanced around the room, jumping off my bed and running to the wall, a full length mirror set up right next to my dresser. He ran his fingers along the side if his nose, looking to the side to get an eyeful his new snout. “You know, you… I mean, we? Whatever, this body looks a lot like my Mom. Same type of monster then?”

            _‘I_ think _I’m still a Boss Monster, at least partly. Again, things get really confusing after death.’_

            “I hear you there.” He poked at his upper lip, surprised by the hard, tooth-like protrusions at the sides. “So, these things, are these for…?”

            _‘Chewing, yeah, but it’s mostly for tougher meats, the type humans always have to saw through. Anyway, the body thing’s actually a little closer than that. See, your Mom is my Mom, too.’_ He stopped in place for a second, digesting the news.

            “Okay, that’s both weird and cool. So, does that make us brothers, or are we the same person now, or…?”

            _‘Please, just stop. This whole sharing a body thing is tough to get used to on its own, let alone when you start thinking about how we fit together in it all.’_ I let out a quiet sigh, thankful he didn’t notice me blurring out the part of his vision where Gerson was. If he looked, he would still see him, but making him all fuzzy made it easier to sidetrack him. I still remembered when I used that trick on Chara to stop them from hurting those…

            No, Asriel, that’s the past. We don’t go there without a good reason, you promised.

            I pulled myself away from my own darker thoughts only to notice another bubble of them growing. A guilty conscience was hard to hide when you could feel it taking effect, the energy around the source stirring against the normal tide, the DT losing some of its vibrancy.

            _‘Is there something bothering you?’_ He stopped prodding the lip fangs, raising an eyebrow in the mirror.

            “Dude, could you not read my mind? That crap’s just plain creepy.”

            _‘Sorry, it’s a little hard not to see stuff from in here. At least you know how hard it’ll be for us to keep secrets, right?’_ He huffed, apparently not pleased about the lack of privacy. I saw how his eyes drooped in the reflection, hesitating to even meet their own image.

            “If you’ve gotta know, it’s something personal. That turtle and his partner took a lot from me, something I’m not getting back, and I’ll leave it at that.”

            _‘You mean Sherri, right?’_ A more sophisticated, feminine voice cut in, surprising both of us. On my end, I was used to Chara’s middle of the road, high, scratchy tone, so hearing Lily in there wasn’t normal to me just yet. As for Bill…

            “How you know that name? How you know what I’m thinking!? God damnit, stop digging in my brains!” It was a good thing we had thick walls, or his constant yelling would’ve reached out to the whole neighborhood.

            _‘After seeing how you passed, it would be more surprising if you didn’t think of her.’_ Lily was straight to the point, but didn’t let her directness translate to snootiness. I was guessing she was still trying to find ground after what happened to her in Waterfall, nowhere near confident enough to stand too tall yet. _‘You should know that she’s asked for you, she just doesn’t know how to talk to someone up here yet. It took nearly your whole vision for Chara to show Cliff and I…’_

“Share’s in here, too!?” His expression became almost manic, split between sheer shock, muscle loosening relief, and angry annoyance. It was… something else. “The Hell didn’t you tell me sooner? Never mind, I gotta see her!” He detached himself from the controls as quick as he had overtaken them, leaving me to click back into place and take over before my body crashed under its own weight.

            As soon as my nervous system was mine again, my control became stilted, locked up. The pain from before was only worse, aggravated by Bill’s lack of restraint. I turned an urgent eye to Alphys, the only warning I could give before my legs collapsed under me.

            “Asriel!” She jumped into action, nearly diving after me to get her arms between me and the floor. She managed, though, sparing me from a rough impact. “W-what happened? Why d-did you just break down like that?” I groaned, not able to flex a single finger without bringing the wrath of my own nerves down on my head.

            “By the time I got back, my body hurt too much to move… Good golly, what’s that guy made out of?” How did he manage to move around like nothing was wrong with a body tearing at itself with pain? Being tolerant to an injury is one thing, being blind to it is completely different. “I hate to ask, but can you get me back to the bed? I don’t think I can do it from here, and I might have to go back inside and… introduce him.” I passed the pause off as a grunt of pain, but, really, I needed that moment to think up an excuse. I mean, I wasn’t lying, I just wasn’t saying who I was introducing him to.

            “Y-yeah, you probably should. I’m not judging him or anything, but he does seem kind of… unsocial. No, that’s not the word, um…”

            “I get what you mean, rough spoken.” She nodded, barely getting my body up off the ground, a combination of short size and no exercise making it tricky, but she still managed. “Be back in a few minutes.”

            I closed my eyes, letting my self drift away from the wheel. It was a lot more relaxing than being forced out, like laying back into a nice, warm bath at the end of the day instead of being thrown into it. I propelled myself deeper inside, the path to my core becoming more familiar by the trip.

            In the distance, I saw the seven Souls that kept me around. I smiled at their soft glow, the orange and light blue DT flowing from them seeming brighter than ever. Below them, hovering around the ‘town square’ (a weird idea for more than a few reasons), I saw the colorful, wispy forms of my head mates. Right in the middle, the orange spirit stood, shaking, the light blue one wrapped tightly in his arms.

            “Share, you’re alright! Oh god, I thought I lost you, I thought I… I…” I wasn’t too surprised to see him crying so openly and honestly, and I refused to judge. What they went through to get here was close to home. In his spot, I would’ve done the same thing.

            “I told you it would be okay, didn’t I? I mean, I didn’t expect this exactly, but still.” Sherri was, in a word, peaceful. She hugged back as well as she could, and she wasn’t shy to show how happy she was, but she wasn’t breaking down into hysterics like Bill. Where he was rampant and uncontrollable, she was measured and calm.

            Looking at them like that, they completed each other. It was no wonder he flew off the handle without her around to keep him anchored. Suddenly, I was very happy they came back in pairs. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep him from punching Gerson on my own. Sherri’s eyes wandered over to me, and her smile got a little bit wider.

            “Cliff, is that Asriel?” He nodded, floating off to the side with Lily.

            “Yep, the guy we owe being awake to. I’ll bet he looks familiar, don’t he?”

            “He looks a lot like Miss Toriel. It’s almost exact, gender aside.” Her expression went curious, looking at me closer and closer, like I was some sort of bacteria under a microscope. It made my skin tingle a little. “Hmm, same eyes and jawline… Excuse me, Mister Asriel? Are you related to someone named Toriel?” She got all that just from how I looked? I shook the strange feeling off, thinking it was for the best if I answered quickly.

            “Yeah, she’s actually my Mom.” The sharp eye vanished, sucked up by bright, sparkling excitement. I wasn’t one to talk about having two sides, but it was still a little off-putting from the receiving end.

            “You hear that, Billy? Now you’re even more of a son to her!” Her brows scrunched together, thinking eyes going back on. “Or are we just an extension of Asriel, or…”

            “Might wanna stop there, Share. Az says it just mixes him up thinking about it.” I floated into a more comfortable distance so I didn’t have to yell.

            “Actually, maybe you could help us figure that out. I’ve heard you’re pretty smart.” She blushed at the compliment, but it was only slight.

            “Really? But, I’m the youngest one here. If you guys couldn’t figure it out…”

            “Are you kidding? Age really doesn’t mean anything on its own. I have a sibling, one that’s not a part of me, who’s about the same age as me, but they can make whole new bodies out of raw energy. If they can do that before they’re a teen, I’m sure you can figure out what we count as from in here.” She shot out of Bill’s tight grip, grabbing my hand and shaking it with all the energy a kid her age should have.

            “Thank you, Mister! I promise, I’ll try my best. Okay, if those up there are our Souls, then…” She stopped, staring closely at her own arms, eyes wide open. “They don’t hurt.” She leaned left, then right, then down to touch her toes. Her face lit up like the Sun. “I don’t hurt anymore!” She spun in place like a top, giggling the whole while. Behind her, Bill was reacting about how you would expect, amazed at her unhampered mobility. She bounced out of her spin, hugging him around the neck, carrying enough energy to spin him around, too.

            “It’s amazing, my weakness is all gone!”

            “Well, that was a body thing.” A quiet, scratchy voice sounded behind me. Chara looked better than after the first vision, but they were still understandably worried, hesitant to get too close to Bill. Their eyes were pointed firmly at their own feet. “In here, you’re a projection of your Soul, linked to Asriel, and he doesn’t have any conditions like yours. When you think about it, still hurting now wouldn’t make much sense unless it was Soul based.” Her excitement was replaced by a subtle curiosity, glancing between them and their still murky red Soul above.

            “Hang on a minute, do I know you from somewhere?” Bill slid closer to them, looking them over closely while scratching his head. Chara gulped, no other choice left than to meet him eye to eye.

            “You probably wouldn’t recognize me. I died years before you, so my face wouldn’t be…”

            “Where’ve I seen those eyes before? I know I saw some like those somewhere, and you don’t forget a red like that.” Chara was about an inch from breaking into a sweat, and I was worried I’d have to dart in as a shield again. Bill’s eyes sparked in recognition, finally pinning it down with a finger snap. “Hey, you’re that voice in my head, the one that buffed me up!” Before either of us could move, his arm shot out, hand latching around Chara’s wrist…

            …before shaking it like they were old friends, big, corny, completely missing the point smile firmly in place.

            “How the Hell did you end up here, too? Really, what’re the chances?” All of Chara’s tension just sort of fizzed out, now firmly in the ‘I have no idea what’s going on’ camp.

            “…I guess pretty high, both caught in the war thing.” Chara tried to shake back, but there wasn’t a chance of them meeting Bill’s enthusiasm. “About before, I wanted to say… I’m sorry. For getting you killed, you know?” Bill just blinked at them, like if someone lightly flicked a rhino.

            “You think that was on you? Nah, wasn’t you that made me throw myself off a cliff for some little fire dude, and you didn’t put those sharp rocks down there either. We’re cool. Hell, I’d say we’re more than that.” His grip on their hand loosened up, grin becoming reflective. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t’ve held out as long as I did. You said it yourself back there, I’m the one who threw it all away in the end. Real dumbass over here, right?”

            Chara was staring at them, completely dumbfounded, and I could understand. They’d been telling themselves that everything was their fault from the start, but here’s someone besides me who outright forgave them. I could tell how much it meant to them by the starstruck twinkle in their eyes. The forced the lids shut, regaining their composure under a whispery chuckle.

            “No, you were right back then. That little kid you saved went on to do some good things, believe you me. We’ll have to show you his place later, best burgers in town. I get the feeling you’d appreciate that, right?” That was his stomach’s cue to growl as loud as it could, almost vibrating the energy he touched. I didn’t think that was a thing we could do in here…

            “Aight, now you’re talkin’! Been, what, a decade since I’ve had a bite? Let’s go!”

            “Sorry, but we don’t really have the time right now.” I looked up, the dull, dormant green and purple Souls standing out against the bright streams of energy.

            “Those two are still out, aren’t they? Ours look active, and we’re right here talking, but I don’t see anyone with those colors here.” As useful as Sherri’s sharp eye might’ve been, it would always be a little unnerving having someone who could read me so easily just sitting down here.

            “Yeah, I’ve been working at helping you guys wake up for a while now. I’m guessing Alphys already has the system for diving ready up there, so I should probably hurry…”

            “Well what’re you waiting for!?” Bill was over in a blink, pushing me back up towards the head. “Can’t just leave people behind, that’s cruel!” Looking him in the eye, I was almost caught off guard by the sheer fire in his spirit. Further than that, the orange Determination around us grew more intense, almost a blinding white. By the time he had shoved me back into the controls, I think I was just as motivated as him, only being pushed along because he could move faster than me. This feeling, the debilitating yet bracing drive to do _something_ , to change the flow of the world, is this how Frisk felt?

            “Aight, Az, we’ll hold down the fort here. You focus on getting those two up and at ‘em.” Before fading back into my body, I gave him a thumbs up and the cockiest grin I could manage. One more dive and this would be all over.

            I opened my eyes, body half sunken into extra cushy blankets. I knew right away that it wasn’t my bed. My fur was usually about enough, a thin cover all the extra padding I needed. Then again, the fluff did feel very supportive, wrapping around and somewhat bracing my still sore muscles.

            “Are you okay?” Off to the side, I saw that Gerson had his spot right next to me taken. Well, technically he hadn’t moved, but I had, and someone else took their chance to get front row seats. It was a little easier when that seat moved with you, and it was a lot easier when you were related to the ‘patient.’

            “Frisk? When did you get here?” They almost completely ignored my question, instead sighing in relief. I was pretty sure that was the point they would’ve hugged me if they weren’t still wrapped up in casts, stuck sitting in a wheel chair.

            “Kiddo heard you hootin’ and hollerin’ all the way downstairs, so they popped in to check on you only to find you knocked out cold.” Gerson had worked up a little of his usual self, probably trying not to stress Frisk out too much. “Gotta say, never thought I’d see a whippersnapper that eager to give up their bed. Your luck’s really turned around lately, hasn’t it?”

            That explained it. Frisk had a special bedspread made to keep them from moving around too much at night. The last thing they needed was to roll out of bed in the middle of recovering. Now though, it looked like they were more concerned about me than themselves, handing it over without a second thought. They really were too nice sometimes.

            “Feeling better?” Their eyes were still looking me over, trying to see if they could spot anything immediately wrong. Come to think of it, the last time they saw me, I had collapsed in the snow out of nowhere. Of course they would be worrying their head off, anyone would.

            “Don’t worry, Frisk, we’re almost done. I just need Alphys to send me in one more time. One more time and I’ll be as good as new, promise.” Something clattered to the ground a little ways away. Alphys had dropped some papers and folders, eyes darting between them and me.

            “W-wait, you’re going a third time right away!? Th-the last one sent you into convulsions, we don’t know if they’ll be worse this time or not. There’s no telling what could happen if they hit again before you’ve…”

            “Alphys.” Frisk’s smooth, unwavering tone was like the chord of a lute, a calming influence when played just right. “The memories themselves aren’t dangerous. They hurt, a lot, but they won’t do any real damage in the long run. Anything he feels now is an echo, he’ll get used to it. Trust me, Gaster and I know first hand.” Really, saying they had personal experience with it should’ve been a red flag, but mentioning her dad’s backing of it being no big deal went a long way. We all knew better than to question Gaster when it came to science. Weird Soul, timeline breaking science, but still. Alphys closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and came out the other side much less jittery.

            “Okay. I’m still not certain, but you know how the timelines work better than any of us. I’ll trust your judgment.” She put her hands to work on the keyboard, readying one last memory dive. “You’re sure you’re ready, right? I can wait as long as you want if you need a break.” I shook my head, dead set on finishing this. The final round is the last place you want to choke.

            “Frisk, could you stay here? You know, incase things catch up again.” They nodded, finding a comfy spot in their chair. They wouldn’t move from that spot until we were done. Their composed waiting expression was blocked out, helmet sliding into place. I was so used to them by that point, I hardly noticed the nose tubes. My nerves quickly numbed from the sleep magic, eyes growing heavy.

            _‘Let’s finish this.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ends the second memory. Four Souls awakened, two yet sleep.
> 
> At this point, Asriel's insides are twisted like spaghetti, different strands running all over, between, and alongside one another. One only wonders what it'll be like when we have all eight eventual personalities running during a story where he's awake. Well, we're getting closer, just one more side story and we can get back to the central story, and I'm already hard at work building up that backlog. I'm in a good mood, so I'll hint at a plot detail. You know how the pairs thus far have had a brother-sister relationship?
> 
> Yeah, the green and purple kids don't. See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about the long wait guys, but you know how odd inspiration can be at times. But hey, I'm here now, and I have a brand new gut pun... I mean, side story!
> 
> Oh, and how about we play a little game? There's a reference to a favorite game of mine in this story. If you can find it, drop it in the comments. You have till the last chapter, first to figure it out wins! Happy hunting!


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